This Is My Story
by Anrixan
Summary: COMPLETE Yuna finally gets Tidus back, but with Baralai's disappearance and life like dreams channeling people's lives who lived 1000 years ago...she needs to save the day before settling down!
1. Looking Back

1. Looking Back

It was a gorgeous in Besaid Village on this night. I sighed as I sat on the edge of the dock and watched the sunset and heard the waves crash against the shore. Everything was just so still, so peaceful, so calm. I felt kind of bad bailing on a party that was created partially on my behalf, but I needed some time to sit down and think. I have changed so much, I grew up a lot. I wasn't the little girl who wanted to save Spira from Sin anymore—mainly because I did save Spira. It has been two years since I destroyed Sin, and I am still here to tell the tale. Every other summoner before myself traveled on their pilgrimage to Zanarkand and never returned. Their sacrifice brought the Calm, but they weren't alive to see it. I will never forget my pilgrimage, I will never forget the guardians who stood by my side and did everything in their power to protect me. It was the seven of us traveling through Spira, Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, Auron, Kimahri, myself and Tidus, the mysterious blitzball player from Zanarkand.

In the beginning of my pilgrimage, Wakka introduced me to a young man named Tidus. He was 17, like myself at that time, and he was a blitzball player from Zanarkand. So the first question that came to my mind was, "blitzball in Zanarkand?" Zanarkand was destroyed 1000 years ago by Sin after a huge machina war between Zanarkand and Bevelle, so how was there any form of life there? He was just as confused as I was so Wakka kind of took him under his wing to help him find out where he came from and maybe find some answers to his questions. As he and I were talking one day, we came to the realization that Tidus' father, Jecht, was also one of my father's guardians. So obviously, Jecht came to Spira in the same way that Tidus did, so we tried to find Tidus a way back to his Zanarkand. He eventually became one of my guardians once he had some experience fighting fiends and protecting me. On the way to Zanarkand, he and I grew strong feelings for one another. I always thought that was very good looking, but I didn't want to get attached because of the fact that once I arrived at Zanarkand, I would die. I didn't want to do that to him...that would be selfish. Once we arrived at Macalania Woods, he and I had a romantic evening of kissing in the middle of the south spring. It was perhaps the most beautiful moment of my life. However, it was a long time from then when I learned the truth about him...

My pilgrimage was a long one, as I imagine it was for many summoners. Going to every temple in the name of Yevon to achieve every aeon was a very lengthy trip with a lot of walking. In that trip, my guardians and I learned the real face of Yevon. Yevon was full of liars and unsent people who basically supported the fact that summoners sacrificed themselves for a Calm that only lasted a few years. Luckily, my father's Calm lasted ten years, but I lost my father. Ten years of a Calm could never replace the fact that my father is dead, and he won't come back to me. My mother died when I was very young, and my father died when I was seven. I felt so alone until Kimahri found me and took me to Besaid, where I grew up in the temple's care. Growing up in the temple made me learn in the way of Yevon, so that's all I believed in. Yevon taught me that a summoner traveled to Zanarkand, the city of the dead, to achieve the Final Aeon. Once the Final Aeon was achieved, the Final Aeon would kill me to use my power to defeat Sin. I knew that I would die by becoming a summoner, yet I live for the people of Spira and my death would've brought people peace. They would've been able to sleep in their beds without fear, and even if it was only for a little while, that time was worth anything. However, learning the truth of Yevon destroyed me inside, mainly because it made everything that I learned as I was growing up fruitless.

The main thing that was different from other summoners and myself was that I destroyed Sin without the Final Aeon, and Sin would never return. I had brought the Eternal Calm to Spira, and I hoped that it would stay for good. However, in that final battle, there were many losses. Sir Auron, a man who was my father's guardian and also mine, was actually unsent, and I sent him to the Farplane. He was a brilliant man who helped me out a lot, and I hope that defeating Sin was my way to say thank you to him. Also, another one of my guardians, Tidus...Star player of the Zanarkand Abes...turned out to be only a dream. He lived in a dreamworld of Zanarkand, and the fayth based everyone in that dream off of people who once lived in the Zanarkand from Spira. Yeah, those lazy bastards decided then that they were tired of dreaming and he started to fade away. I didn't know that he would disappear until after the final battle...I don't think I've ever cried so hard in my entire life. He meant everything to me...he was the first man I had ever loved...and I never was able to tell him......

Two years later, Rikku came up to me to show me a sphere that Kimahri found on Mt. Gagazet that had a man who looked exactly like my Tidus. I quickly left Besaid without saying a word, (also leaving the newly weds....Wakka and Lulu...I saw that one coming) causing quite a fuss according to Wakka. I quickly changed my look into something a little more provocative (but hey, it was comfortable) and went to look for more spheres with Tidus in it. On my journey however, I found out that the man in the sphere was a young man named Shuyin who was looking for his summoner girlfriend, Lenne. Much like Tidus, Shuyin was willing to do anything to save Lenne from her death...but it didn't end well. They were killed...before they were able to express their feelings for each other. I can't say, "Well, what the hell were they waiting for?" because I never expressed my feelings for Tidus while I had the chance. So that just evolved into me going into the dressphere of Lenne, singing (yeah...me singing!!), and pretty much becoming connected to Lenne. So the big showdown was actually today. Rikku, Paine, and I met up with some of Paine's friends in the Farplane to work out our plan. We were going to take apart Vegnagun (The big huge machina that Shuyin was going to use to vaporize Spira) and then I was going to bring Lenne's feelings to Shuyin, hoping that he would be content enough to go to the Farplane and stop wandering in pain. Well, of course things never really work out the way that I want them to, so Shuyin realized that it was me talking to him and not Lenne, so he got all pissed off and started to attack Rikku, Paine and I. After beating him up, (and that was very difficult for me to do because of the resemblance that he had to Tidus...the way he moved...the way he talked...everything...) Lenne pretty much came out of my body and they turned into pyreflies and were sent to the Farplane. Yeah, it made me feel good about myself because I saved the world once again and I made Shuyin and Lenne eternally happy, I felt lonely. Lenne had her Shuyin...but where was my Tidus? Walking out of the Farplane, the fayth from Bevelle thanked me for saving Spira once again. Then he basically asked me if I wanted to see Tidus again. What was I going to say, no? That things were better this way??? Yeah right! Of course I told the fayth that I wanted to see him again...and when I reached Besaid...there he was. I couldn't jump off the airship fast enough...as a matter of fact, the airship didn't stop before I hopped off the exit ramp. Hugging him brought me tears of happiness...and I had to ask him if he was real. Just being with him again was the most magnificent feeling ever. Being in his arms, it just felt so right....

So that leads to today. The party that I abandoned was the welcome home party for Tidus and I. Okay, it's not that I abandoned the party...like I said, I just needed to think. I needed to reflect on what was happening at this point in time...and I couldn't lose him again. When Tidus and I went to Zanarkand earlier today, he mentioned the fact that he might still be a dream...and I can't let that happen. Then he said that we just need to cherish each other...but then I found out that even if I don't cherish him he won't disappear, (I pushed him off the cliff into a pool, it was rather entertaining) I realized that I would cherish him for the rest of my life. With these thoughts, I took a sip from the glass of wine that I was holding when I heard footsteps behind me.


	2. Mine To Cherish

2. Mine to Cherish

"Whatcha doin', Yunie?" I turned around to see my cousin, and former guardian, Rikku standing behind me. I smiled and just looked away. "You're missing a major party right now."

"Hmm, yeah I know. I just needed to come here and sit for a minute." Rikku sat down next to me and dangled her legs off the dock. "What are you doing here?"

"Maybe it's just the fact that everyone was looking for you and we all split up to find you." I gave her a surprised look.

"Wait, everyone is looking for me?" Rikku giggled and I gave her a little push to the side. Her green eyes sparkled with delight as she giggled. She was 17 and Al Bhed. My mother was Rikku's father's sister, making Rikku my first cousin. Rikku's brother, appropriately named Brother, is also my first cousin. Rikku speaks better English than Brother does, but Brother is getting much better. He once told me that he started to learn just so he could talk to me more. Yeah, that was a weird situation, but it's all right because I have my head set on straight. However, if you ever get Rikku really excited or really pissed off, she'll start speaking in Al Bhed. Maybe it's because I've spent so much time with her and Brother while I was in the Gullwings, but I'm starting to understand it more. I can't exactly speak it that well...except for a few short words every now and then, but I can understand most of it.

"Tidus was actually." Rikku gave me a slight nudge and winked at me. "You shouldn't leave your man while getting him back a little more than five hours ago."

"I didn't leave him, Rikku," I said as I shook my head. "It's just that, I can't believe this is all happening. I can't believe he's back...with me. I can finally tell him everything that I couldn't before due to the lack of time."

"Okay, so that still doesn't really explain why you're sitting on this dock all by yourself. If you wanted to tell him things, you should be there with him, spilling your heart out." Rikku stood up and put her hand out to help me stand up. "Okay, come on. Back to the village fire ya go."

"Well, see, here's the thing. I would be telling him everything that's on my mind, but I don't want other people to hear me, if you catch my drift." I flashed her a mischievous smile and Rikku understood. It's not just because we've spent so much time with each other that she's like my other half, but because anyone would know that since I haven't seen the love of my life in two years there were some things I was yearning for. I took Rikku's hand and she helped me stand.

"Just be careful, Yunie." She took the wine glass out of my hand and held it between her thumb and forefinger. "Just don't be having too many of these before you talk to him. You might not remember the night then."

"Hey, this is only like my fifth glass," I took the glass back from her and stared at the pale pink liquid inside. "I think." Rikku took the glass away from me again and held it out of my reach.

"Yep...that's like five too many for you. Yunie, you never drink." I gave her a friendly glare and we started to walk toward Besaid Village. "And don't think you're going to get this glass back either." Just to prove her point, she poured out the liquid that was inside the glass.

"Rikku, I was only kidding. That was seriously my first glass. Not to mention that it was still over half full." I don't think she believed me, but what she said was true. I never drink. I never found the amusement in it I guess. "What time is it anyway?"

"It's about 9:30, it's still early." I looked at the fading sunset over my shoulder; it sure was staying light until late. "So yeah, you have quite a while until people start leaving the fire. I still don't understand how you got away without a fuss."

"Well, Tidus was talking to Wakka and Lulu and I put Vidina to sleep, then decided that I needed to think. I've only been away for like a half hour anyway."

"Try like an hour and a half. Think about it, it's 9:30, and what time does Lulu put Vidina down to sleep?" I nodded because I realized that she was right. "Oh well, it's okay. I'm sure Wakka is still talking Tidus' ear off. Maybe about how the Aurochs actually had an amazing season last year."

"Oh yeah, sure, cuz that team is amazing." I couldn't help the sarcasm that came into my voice. As much as I love all the Aurochs, they did suck. The team was best when Tidus was in it, even if he said that he didn't have it in him to play blitzball anymore. He was still the heart of the team, he got them going. However, now that Wakka is a daddy, he stopped playing blitzball temporarily. He says that eventually he wants to play again, but we'll see what happens there. Maybe he'll teach little Vidina how to play blitzball, but I don't think Wakka will ever be on a team again. It's sad to think of that though, because of how much Wakka was into it.

For some reason, Rikku and I walked the rest of the way in silence. Maybe she was just thinking, but I have no clue. Besaid Village was an adorable town, and I love with all my heart. It's so cozy and heartwarming just to see it. Yes, it is very small, but I don't think that I would want it any other way. Everyone in the town was gathered around the fire that was set in the middle of the village, and I could see Tidus sitting down still talking to Wakka. Yep, as much as I love Wakka, he can sure shoot his mouth off about nothing. I could see Tidus' eyes light up the second that he saw me, and he stood up. As I got closer to the two of them, Rikku walked in the other direction toward the area where Paine and Lulu were talking, and I heard Wakka say to Tidus as he noticed the look on his face, "Ah, I understand. See you later, ya?" and Tidus walked over to me.

"Hello, beautiful," he said as he put his arms around me and kissed my forehead. "Where have you been? I've been worried about you. You went to put Vidina down and that was it."

"Yeah, I, um, went to the dock to sit down and think for a little bit." Tidus looked at me in a curious manner. "Just trying to absorb everything. Besides, I knew that Wakka would want to talk your ear off for a long time."

"It's amazing to be back." He said as I put my head against his chest and he put his chin on top of my head. "However, it's almost as if I never left in the first place."

"Oh you have no idea what it was like without you here. A day didn't go by where I didn't think of you." I looked up at him and his blue eyes looked into mine. He had the most amazing blue eyes, and I've missed looking into them more than anything in the world. Being in his arms again, looking into his eyes, I never wanted to be anywhere else.

"Okay, now it's not nice to lie about things like that. Get a boys' hope up and all that." He smiled at me, and I knew that he truly believed that I did think about him every day. He was all I dreamed about, all I wished for...and he was mine again. Mine to hold...mine to cherish.

"I seriously did though, and you know it. Don't deny it, because I will win this argument." He kissed me on the forehead again and looked at the crowd of people around the fire. I knew exactly what he was thinking. "Yeah, they'll probably be out here for a while."

"Where are we staying, anyway?" Tidus had a good question. I haven't actually stayed a night here in so long, I honestly didn't know where we would stay. I lived on the Celsius, the Gullwings airship, for so long...I really didn't have a place in Besaid anymore. My hesitation made Tidus smile at me. "Didn't think about that one, huh?"

"Well, I honestly didn't know that you were going to come back to me, so I figured that I would just stay on the Celsius for a while with Rikku and Paine. But I think that Paine is going to go to Bevelle to stay with Baralai for a while, Rikku mentioned something about traveling around with Buddy and Brother to rebuild Home...and I thought that I would help them out. However, now I know that us on the airship with people around...really isn't a good idea, ya know?" Tidus nodded and I continued to think. "Well, I guess we could go to an inn somewhere. Rin still has his travel agencies around...I personally liked the one in the Thunder Plains. We could go there."

"Yeah, we could do that for tonight if you would like to. It's not really the most romantic place in all of Spira, but we could do that so we can catch up and stuff. Or rather, you could tell me what you've been up to and I'll listen."

"Okay, that works. We just need to wait until everyone leaves." I looked around at the crowd of people again, and I realized that they weren't going to go anywhere any time soon.

It was about 11:30 before everyone started to slowly disperse to their homes, and let me tell you, it was about damn time. I could only tell the same stories so many times before I wanted to explode. Yes, I loved to talk, that's one of my favorite things to do, but how many times can I explain myself singing in Luca Stadium? Not to mention the fact that I had to lie; I couldn't tell them that it was an imposter in my dressphere who was singing and dancing. Wakka, Lulu, Paine, Rikku, Tidus and I stood around the dying embers of the fire discussing our next moves.

"So, where are you all off to now?" Wakka asked us all as we all shrugged our shoulders. "Well, let's not all answer at once, ya?"

"Well, I guess I'm going to stay on the airship for a while. You know that Pop wants to start rebuilding Home again and stuff...so I guess that means that I have to help." Rikku said as she shifted her weight. She was standing for a while and she can't tolerate standing still for that long period of a time. Then a goofy grin washed over Rikku's face. "Not to mention that I wouldn't mind seeing Gippal again."

"I think I'm going to go with Rikku until I get to Bevelle. I was born and raised there, so I guess I should go back. Plus, I think that's where Nooj and Baralai will be, and I want to be with them." Paine said as she crossed her arms.

"What about you two lovebirds, then?" Wakka looked over and Tidus and I. "Where are you two going to stay?"

"I...um, we don't know yet." I said as Tidus put his arm around me. "We were thinking maybe going to the Thunder Plains Travel Agency for a while. It's quiet there and we could talk for a while."

"Talk?" Rikku piped up. "So, that's what you young kids call it nowadays..."

"Yeah, pretty much." Tidus said with a smile. "But seriously, it could work."

"Well, you do know that they build a new inn over there right?" Lulu said as she pointed. Tidus, Rikku, Paine and I all had to look over to where Lulu pointed. We obviously didn't even notice it. "It's right next to the temple. How you missed it I have no idea."

"It's more like a townhouse really," Wakka said. "Maybe you two could rent a room until you get a place of your own, ya? I could say that you could live with Lu and I, but—"

"It's okay, Wakka," I interrupted. I didn't know where he was going to go with that sentence...so it was better if I just interrupted him before he said something awkward. I've known Wakka and Lulu since I was seven, and the thought of them doing anything kinda grossed me out. They were like family to me, basically the only family I have, so yeah. I think you catch my drift. "We'll go check it out though."

"Hey, how many rooms are in the townhouses?" Rikku asked as I kind of threw her a look. "What? Paine and I could stay there for a night that way we don't have to bother Buddy and Brother."

"It's a good idea actually, Rikku." Paine said as she gave a surprised look to Rikku. "For once, you actually came up with a creative idea. Very surprising from a blonde like yourself."

"Hey!" Rikku said trying to sound hurt, although she smiled. I shook my head and smiled, because I think she's proud to be cute and blonde. "Okay, let's go you guys."

"Okay," I said to her. We all said good night to Wakka and Lulu and headed over to the new townhouses.

The townhouse rooms were very nice actually. They had one bedroom, (at least ours did. Paine and Rikku got the two bedroom one) a kitchen, a laundry room, a bathroom, and a nice living room. It was going to be a nice place to start off for a little while. It was decently priced too, although I wasn't worried about spending some quality gil for a place. I was off fighting fiends for a long time, I think I worked up a little gil, even though I split it with Rikku and Paine. I also knew that Tidus and I would never run low on gil because we're both excellent fighters and we could destroy fiends without thinking twice.

"Ah!" Tidus said as he threw himself down onto the bed in the bedroom. "Alone at last!"

"I know," I said as I lied down next to him. I rested my head against his chest and tried not to fall asleep right then and there. I was exhausted. I worked my way through the Farplane, destroyed a machina that was capable of destroying the world, beat up a guy that looked like the love of my life, helped two dead people find eternal bliss, and I got the love of my life back. "I am so tired, you have no idea."

"You had a rough day, I'm not surprised." There was silence for a moment, and as I was lying on his chest, I could hear his pulse becoming faster. I knew exactly what his intentions were. "Do you...actually want to go to sleep though?"

"Tidus, I don't think I have the energy to actually do anything right now." I couldn't believe I said that out loud. I could sense the disappointment in Tidus by the way his pulse slowed down. "I just want to lie in your arms and do nothing."

"Okay, that's fine." He actually didn't sound too hurt. "Whatever you want to do is good for me."

"Yay," I said quietly as I snuggled up to him. "However, I do want to get under the covers."

"Agreed." Tidus and I both got up, stripped down to our underwear, and got underneath the covers. He moved his body close to mine and held me tightly. I never wanted him to let go.


	3. We Are All Connected

3. We Are All Connected

The next morning I woke up and I realized I was alone. I quickly shot up in bed and looked around me. I didn't know where I was and I was alone. I couldn't think of anything more frightening. I hopped out of bed in only my bra and underwear and ran into the next room as tears started to form in my eyes. Was it all just a dream? Was Tidus coming back to me just my imagination playing tricks on me?

Something grabbed onto my shoulders, and I yelped as I whipped around.

"Yuna, it's me!" It took me a second to see through my teary eyes to realize that it was Tidus. I wrapped my arms around him and I started to cry. I couldn't speak, tears only came. He kissed me on the top of the head to comfort me. "Yuna, what's wrong?"

"I thought you were just a dream." Tidus held me away from him and kept his hands on my shoulders. A smile came upon his faces and a chuckle escaped his lips. I was a little offended that he would laugh as I was crying in his arms, so I looked up at him. "What?"

"I am a dream." I had to smile as he spoke. He brushed my cheek with his hand to wipe away the tears that were flowing.

"Very funny, but that's not what I meant. I woke up, and I was alone. It made me feel as if...yesterday never happened. Like, I helped save the world, but I didn't." I wrapped my arms around him again.

"Well, I'm here, so you don't have to worry, okay?" He moved me away from him again and looked into my eyes. "See me?"

"Clear as day," I said with a smile. Finally the tears stopped flowing. I'm not really one to burst into tears like that. I think...the last time I did was when I sang in the Thunder Plains. However, I feel that was more of an influence of Lenne; those were her feelings, and I only related them to myself. Tidus wiped the remainder of my tears away.

"Are we done crying now?" I nodded and smiled. He returned my smile with one of his own. God, I love the way his eyes sparkle when he smiles. "Okay, I _was_ making breakfast until I heard you freak our. I hope it's not burnt to a crisp now."

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically as I walked back into our bedroom to grab my robe, and then I walked into the kitchen area. I gasped at the sight when I entered. "Oh, Tidus..."

He went all out. He bought flowers and put them on the counters, he set the table with candles, a tablecloth, new china, (Hmm...someone went shopping! How soundly did I sleep?) and other things. Wine glasses sat next to our dishes half full of orange juice. Also, the thing that thrilled me the most, a perfect red rose was placed on my plate. I walked over to it, picked it up, and inhaled its perfume.

"So, you hungry?" I nodded as he moved my chair back so I could sit down. He pushed my chair in closer to the table and then walked over to the stove. He made enough eggs, hash browns, and pancakes to feed New Yevon and the Youth League. "I really hope you're hungry."

"Wow, I guess since you haven't eaten in two years you could eat an entire horse?" He smirked at me and brought the plates to the table. He placed a little bit of everything onto my plate and I started to eat. Honestly, I was surprised that everything tasted amazing. "You have been holding out on me. I never knew that you could cook."

"Yeah, it's a surprise to both of us." I looked up at him as he gestured to the pile of recipe cards next to the sink. I had to smile as he blushed a little bit. "I, um, had to run over to Lulu and Wakka's this morning after my shower and ask Lulu how to cook. So I really can't take credit for any of this."

"Well, I still give you full credit." We both smiled and started to eat. We were both so hungry that we didn't say another word to each other during breakfast. When we were done, I stood up to bring my dishes to the sink, but Tidus stopped me.

"And what do you think you're doing?" He took me by surprise so I just whipped around and looked at him. He walked up to me and took the dishes out of my hands. "Nope, you can go rest or something. I've got this."

"Ya know, if you weren't gone for two years, I would've asked you what you did to be sucking up to me, but..." I trailed off as I kissed him on the cheek. "I guess for now I'll enjoy it while I have it. I'll go take a shower."

When I came out of the shower, Tidus was lying down on the bed. His eyes were closed, so I jumped on the bed next to him. He jumped perhaps a foot and opened his eyes.

"Dear lord, Yuna!" He grabbed me by the shoulders, whipped me around, pinned me down on the bed, and started to tickle me. He is a lot stronger than I am, so he was able to hold me down even though I was squirming quite a bit.

"Okay okay okay! Stop, stop, stop!" I was giggling, so speaking was hard work.

"Are you ever going to do that to me again?" He was smiling, so I knew he was only being playful with me.

"I won't, I promise!"

"All right, then." He then sat down on the bed and I lied my head down on his lap. He started to run his fingers through my hair, and then moved his head so he could look me in the eyes. "So, I'm still kind of confused on how this entire thing started. You never were able to tell me the entire story. All you said was that it started with some sphere, right?"

"That's right," I answered as I took his hands in hers. I still was worried that he wasn't real, so I wanted to feel him as long as I could, just incase he would disappear again. "Kimahri found the sphere on Mt. Gagazet."

"But, the thing I want to know is, when was it recorded?" I only smiled at the sound of his voice. He realized I really didn't comprehend what he just said, so he spoke up again. "Yuna, ya there?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tidus." I realized that me being in his arms was way too distracting, so I sat up straight and looked at him. "It's just that I haven't seen you in so long that I almost forgot how good it felt."

"How good what felt?" Tidus asked me.

"Love. What it was to be in it, what it was like to have it surging through your heart at every moment." I looked at him right in the eyes, and we both smiled. Of course, right at that moment (without knocking!) Rikku and Paine walked right into the bedroom.

"Whoa, I really hope I'm not interrupting anything." Rikku said as Tidus and I both whipped our heads toward her. How we didn't hear her come into the house.

"I guess that proves that I didn't lock the door after I came in after my cooking lesson with Lulu." Tidus said as I smiled at him. Rikku's eyes lit up as she comprehended what Tidus said. She looked over at me.

"He _cooked_ for you, Yunie?" I nodded and she seemed impressed. "Damn Tidus, that gives you some major points. Anyway, the reason why I came here—and thank god I didn't walk into anything disturbing—Wakka and Lulu wanted to know if we could watch the baby for a little bit because they want to go on a 'romantic getaway.'"

"We tried to explain to them that there aren't any romantic spots in Spira, but they didn't listen to us and decided to go anyway, leaving us with the babysitting duties." Paine said as she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame.

"Nah, it's okay. He's a cute little guy, I don't mind." Tidus said as he stood up and stretched.

"Actually, can you guys handle Vidina for a little while?" I said to Rikku and Paine as I stood up next to Tidus. I reached my hand out and held Tidus' hand in mine.

"Why?" Paine asked simply.

"I really would like for Tidus and I to be alone for a little bit." Rikku raised an eyebrow and smiled at my reply.

"Oooh, I see who's got it goin' on!" My jaw dropped at the rash implication from Rikku, although I knew it was true. "Go on, go ahead. You can probably get Brother to take you somewhere on the airship."

"Yeah, I was thinking about asking him if he and Buddy weren't busy. Either that, or Tidus and I can just go to the shore." I started to lead Tidus toward the door, but Rikku stood in front of the doorway.

"What is that? Like your secret hide-a-way area lately, Yunie?" I chuckled at Rikku and waited for her to move away from the door. Of course, she didn't move.

"Um, Rikku, could you let us through?" I asked her as nicely as I could. I was about ready to push her out of the way, but I thought I should ask first.

"Yeah, but I want to know where you guys are going." Rikku bounced on her toes in excitement. "I love romance."

"Go find Gippal then, Rikku." Paine said as she pushed Rikku out of our way. Rikku looked at Paine in astonishment.

"Hey!" I couldn't help but giggle at Rikku's reaction. No matter how much Rikku tries to tell Paine and I that nothing happened between her and Gippal, we can see right through her. Gippal himself told us that they were together a while back. However, Rikku hasn't spilled the info on that one yet, and she's not one to hide secrets well. One day she'll break and spill the goods. Just the way she talks about him...She even said that she wanted to help rebuild Home so she could be with him. I don't think she realizes what she says sometimes. I looked over at Tidus and I could see that he was completely lost in the dark.

"I'll have to explain it to you," I said as he nodded at me. I sighed as I had to recap the last two years of my life in my head....wow there was a lot to tell. "I'll have to explain everything." I realized that now was as good of a time as any to start with my story, so I grabbed Tidus' hand and we started to walk out of the house. We both looked over our shoulders and there was Rikku, jumping and waving frantically to us. "Oh, Rikku."

"She sure hasn't changed," Tidus said with a laugh after we were out of earshot.

"No, she's still the same Rikku. I love the girl to death though." We exited Besaid and start to walk toward the beach, hand in hand. "The three of us, we all had a lot of fun while trying to unravel everything that happened."

"Okay, now that I have you alone without anyone to interrupt you, I wanna hear everything."

"Well, it all started when I saw this sphere of you." I had to giggle at the fact that that is pretty much the only information I have given Tidus about my journey since he's been back. I think that's the furthest I ever got in my story, and I have started the story about eight times.

"Yes, we all know this part and that Kimahri found it on Mt. Gagazet." Tidus smiled at me to reassure me that he really wasn't pissed off at me for being so repetitive.

"Well, Rikku showed it to me because she got it from Kimahri. You see, Rikku, Brother, and Buddy were all part of the Gullwings before I did. She befriended Paine, and I really didn't know much about her at first." I scrunched my nose as I thought about Paine for a second. "As a matter of fact, she and I have only had a few heart to heart talks since we met."

"Yeah, she doesn't exactly seem like the talkative type." Tidus said. "I have observed this from the few times I've seen her in the last like twelve hours."

"She's a very nice girl though. She went through a lot." I sighed as I continued, "I guess...I guess I can understand and respect her decision not to say anything. She even told me once, 'the hardest person to know is yourself.'"

"I can see where she gets that, because it is true." Tidus stopped at the precipice that looks over the entire city of Besaid. "I still can't believe I'm back."

"I'm not complaining, so you shouldn't either." I said as I walked up next to him.

"I'm not complaining in the least bit. Hell, I'm back here with you." He cupped my chin with his hand. "It's almost hard for me to hear that you spend so much time trying to find a way to get me back."

"Don't let it be hard for you to hear. I love you, Tidus. You were, and still are, my true love, and a love like that isn't just one of those things that you can toss aside and hope that it goes away. It aches inside of you until you can't stand it anymore. When people break up, they have to realize that that is the kind of heartbreak that you have to get over. It's not easy, but the timing wasn't right, or the feelings weren't there or something. In my case, my love was ripped away from me. I didn't even get a chance to prepare myself for the heartbreak..." I trailed off and Tidus put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned up against him and held back the tears that were starting to form again. (Wow, I have no idea what is up with me being so emotional lately!) "However, you're here now, and that is the best thing that could've happened to me."

"Hey, it's not nice to lie." He knew very well that I wasn't lying, but Tidus isn't one of those guys that have an easy time accepting a complement. He likes to kinda play hard to get. "Kay...finish with the story now."

"First of all, you know very well that I'm not lying. Okay, I'll really explain everything to you now. But first...Race ya to the beach!" Before Tidus knew what had happened, I ran off toward the beach. It took Tidus about a beat to realize what I just did, and then raced after me. His stride is much larger than mine, so he was able to catch up to me as I reached the shore. He picked me up in his arms into a hug.

"You can't get away from me that easily!" Tidus said as he put me down. He kept his arms around my waist and leaned in toward my face. I couldn't help but smile because I wanted to kiss him ever since he got back. I honestly have no idea what the hell we were waiting for. I closed my eyes and puckered my lips a little bit...and then before I knew what happened, he picked up off of my feet and threw me into the water. I let out a scream as I hit the water, and I could hear him laughing at me. I surfaced with a gasp; that was NOT what I was expecting. As I started to swim toward the shore, Tidus sat on the beach, still laughing his ass off at me.

"Hey!" I got out of the water and sat next to him. "That was NOT was I thought you were going to do. Teasing is bad." I cleared my throat as a hint, but he only smiled at me. "Okay, now that we're calmed down...and a little wet...I think I can finish my story now."

"Yeah, I think you're a little wet there, Yuna." I playfully splashed him with water for the comment, and we both laughed. He then inched closer to me and put his arm around me again. I put my head on his shoulder and he put his head on mine. "Okay, so finish."

"Well, after finding the sphere of you, and talking to Rikku about it, I decided to join the Gullwings. I was thinking that I might find more spheres like it. And throughout my journey, I did find more, but in one of them, you were looking for a way to save a girl named Lenne, which made me really pissed off and jealous. It was like you left me and moved....on..." I trailed off as Tidus moved his head off of mine. It was not exactly the reaction that I was expecting...I honestly wasn't expecting a reaction at all because I was only kidding about being jealous. Well, okay, I was jealous until I found out that it was actually Shuyin and not Tidus, but I didn't get to that part in my story yet. I picked my head off of his shoulder and looked up at him. He just sat there, looked straight ahead, and pressed his lips together. I was confused by the look, so I moved his face with my forefinger to look at me. "Questions? Comments?"

"Lenne," Tidus said as he moved his head so he looked away from me. If that wasn't bad enough, he moved arm. I backed away a little bit in surprise and he wrapped his arms around his knees. "Lenne."

"What is it?" Tidus wouldn't even look at me. I moved so I could look at him, but he just stood up and started to walk along the shore. It was really starting to freak me out, so I stood up and watched him. "Tidus, what is it?"

"That name..." Tidus said in almost a whisper. "I know it."


	4. A Puzzling Coincidence

4. A Puzzling Coincidence 

I haven't seen this look on Tidus' face before, and it really scared me. "What do you know? How do you know it, Tidus?" I walked up to him and he just turned and walked in the other direction. The hurt was starting to go deeper inside of me with each step that he took. "Stop the cryptic act, you're really starting to scare me."

"No, it's just that...Never mind." He stopped walking finally, and I walked up and wrapped my arms around him from behind, hoping for a little affection. Yeah, some affection, he shook me off of him. "I need to think, Yuna."

I couldn't help the stupid tear that fell down my face as I shouted to him, "Tidus, I just got you back. Don't start holding secrets from me again!" I very rarely speak in that tone of voice...and I don't think that Tidus has ever heard me speak that way. I have changed a lot since the days when I was a summoner, and he hasn't see that part of me. Knowing how much I changed without him being there during the process was a very difficult concept for me to grasp. Anger filled my face as Tidus whipped around at me.

"What have I ever held from you before, Yuna?" I turned my back to him as he walked over to me. I know I made him feel bad, but I couldn't help it. My hands covered my face as I wept, I didn't want him to see me crying again, although I obviously was. Hell, he's been back less than a day and he's already seen me cry about three times. I want him to know that I changed into a stronger person and not a weepy helpless one. He walked in front of me and before I had a chance to dodge out of the way he wrapped his arms around me. I didn't put my arms around him, I just hung them to my side. I could hear his heart beating rapidly as my head was against his chest. "Yuna, speak to me."

His tone changed from being reserved and almost hostile to soft and gentle. This was the Tidus that I knew and loved. However, I wasn't going to give in that easily...he couldn't sweet talk his way out of it. Secrets never could fly with me mainly because I liked to hear the truth, no matter how painful it is. I was able to accept the fact that I would die being a summoner and I was fine with it, I'm sure I could handle how Tidus knew Lenne. "What do you want me to say? Don't keep secrets from me, anymore! The last secret you kept from me you kept until I didn't get a chance to..." I trailed off as I spoke. The memory of him disappearing right before my eyes flooded back to me. Tidus put his hands gently on my shoulders and moved me far enough away so he could look at my face. He didn't look in my eyes because I moved my head to the side. I couldn't bear to look at him while bad memories washed through my head. I didn't need to look at him to know that he had a smile on his face to try to make me feel better.

"Yuna, I knew I couldn't tell you that I was going to disappear. It was hard enough for me to come to the realization that I couldn't spend more time with you. Not to mention that the only way to destroy Sin would be to destroy Yu Yevon, and the fayth would stop dreaming after you destroyed Yu Yevon, meaning I would disappear. So if I told you that I would disappear, you wouldn't have destroyed Yu Yevon. You would've been against it." His smile grew as he wiped a tear off of my cheek. "Am I right?"

It was almost scary how correct he was. Ever since I was little, I knew what my pilgrimage meant. Like I told Yunalesca (before we kicked the crap out of her), I lived for the people of Spira and would have died for them, but I didn't want anyone else to give up their life. I was physically and mentally prepared for it to happen due to the years of training...but I wasn't physically and mentally prepared to have the only guy I've ever loved to simply disappear. I think...if Tidus would've told me that the second we destroyed Yu Yevon he would disappear...I think I would've been selfish and not destroyed Yu Yevon, just so I could keep my boyfriend. However, when he told me, it was literally when Yu Yevon was dangling right in front of us and I didn't have time to absorb what he just told me. It wasn't until after I sent all the aeons and Sin that Tidus looked at his fading hands and then looked at me. Oooh, the thought of that just sends shivers down my spine... "Yeah, you're right." I sighed and hugged him again. "Can we make a promise? No more secrets?"

"No more secrets." Tidus kissed me on the forehead and held me tightly against his chest. I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow at him so he would get the point to share the Lenne secret with me. He smiled at me and said, "I, um, guess that means that I have to tell you who Lenne is."

"Yeah, that would be a nice start." Good boy, he got the hint. I let him go and we both started to walk along the shore, hand in hand. "It can't be the same Lenne, so I'm really not worried about it. Just, if it's one of those things like an ex-girlfriend or something, no details."

"No, she wasn't an ex-girlfriend. At least I don't think she was." I looked at him with a confused look on my face. That didn't make any sense at all. Sigh Why are guys so damn confusing?

"What do you mean, you don't think she was? Was it just a fling or something?"

"What I'm trying to say is that I've never met her. She was a dream to me. I constantly dreamed of her, she was a singer in Zanarkand. My Zanarkand." Tidus shook his head and smiled at himself, I'm assuming over the memory. "I guess she was just some young boy's fantasy or something."

"A songstress..." I trailed off. This story was starting to be a little more connected than I wanted it to be. "Um, in your dreams, you didn't end up like dating her or anything did you?"

"That's the funny thing. It was like she knew me. I even had a dream where..." Now it was Tidus' turn to trail off. He smiled again at the thought of the repeated dreams of this young woman. I wasn't too thrilled about these fantasy dreams of his, they made me quite jealous. However, I had to realize that was before he knew me. "A dream of a dream, kind of a funny situation, ya know?"

"Not too funny, actually." I let go of his hand, took a few steps toward the water, and took off my boots. I walked into the water until it was about ankle deep, just letting the gentle waves splash up against my legs. I was just so confused, so I looked over my shoulder to Tidus and continued. "My whole journey was basically to unravel a mystery about a summoner named Lenne and her lover, Shuyin."

"Shuyin?" Tidus looked at me blankly and I nodded. I didn't really have a better reaction at the time. He sat down and started to take off his shoes as well. "Well, she never called me Shuyin in any of the dreams. She always referred to me as Tidus. Might be something different."

He shrugged and I started to walk closer to him. "Okay, random question time. Did you ever have a dream where you both get shot?" Tidus stopped unlacing his shoes, and looked up at me in surprise. He didn't say anything, but finished taking off his shoes. His silence spoke volumes. "Hmm, your stunned silence is very reassuring."

"Yeah, it was the weirdest thing. Like I was playing piano or something like that, and she ran up to me and told me to stop doing whatever I was doing. I always thought it was strange, because all I was doing was playing the piano. I was pretty good too, which is kinda funny because I lack any kind of musical ability whatsoever. Anyway, so as I'm playing, she runs up to whatever it is that I'm sitting on and tells me to stop. I would always look over the piano thing, see her, and she would look over her shoulder at the guards that were running up toward her. I would walk down to her, she ran up to me, we embraced...and we were killed." Tidus stood up and ran his toes through the sand. Without saying a word, I walked over to him and took his hands in mine. He still couldn't look me in the eyes, he only turned his head away. "It was...so real. The feelings and everything. I felt like I was someone she really knew and loved, and I loved her back. I wanted to save her..."

"Everything's connected," I said as I moved so I was in Tidus' line of sight. I had important things to tell him, and in order to make sure that he was going to understand and comprehend what I had to say, I wanted him to see me. "Think about it, everything is the same." He gave me a confused look, and I realized that he didn't know anything about Shuyin and Lenne, because I haven't explained anything yet. I brushed a strand of hair out of my face. "I, um, guess this is a good time to explain to you the story of Lenne and Shuyin."

"Yeah, I guess that would make everything come together in my mind." Tidus sat down in the sand again, so I sat next to him to explain my journey from the past two years. I explained EVERYTHING; The Youth League, New Yevon, Wakka and Lulu's marriage (and he replied to that one with "Damn it!!! I should get credit for that one! I was the one who told Lulu to date Wakka, and she basically said that I was nuts." I then told him that I saw it coming anyway...but he still wanted credit for it), what it was like being High Summoner, how I joined the Gullwings, everything about Paine, The Crimson Squad, Nooj, Gippal (and the so called 'relationship' that he and Rikku had), Leblanc, the Syndicate, Kimahri being an elder, me singing in the Thunder Plains (trying to explain that to him was quite entertaining. Once he found out that it was technically Lenne's voice coming out of me because of the songstress dressphere, he said, "Oh, that makes more sense now." Ha ha ha, what a smartass) and of course the entire story with Shuyin and Lenne. I'm surprised he didn't fall asleep after that story. Seriously, it took me about three hours to tell him everything, although I do have a habit of rambling on and going on random tangents that it probably took about a half hour longer to tell the story. But he followed along and listened to me ramble.

After I was done talking, Tidus exhaled. "Wow. Damn, I missed a lot."

"Yeah, you really did," I said as I smiled. It was almost funny to realize how much happened without him. It was also funny to realize that everything started when I saw a sphere of him. I was trying to find him, I was trying to make me happy, and I saved the world in the process. I guess I'm just an overachiever because I did get what I was going after. "I, um, wish you were there with me. There were so many times where I was scared of what was going to happen, and you weren't there."

"I'm really sorry," he said as he looked down. I made him feel a little bit guilty and I didn't mean to. It wasn't like he chose to be a dream and fade away. "Ow, I have a cramp in my leg, I need to stand."

We both stood up because I was talking for so long and both lost blood flow to our feet. He gently held my hand and we walked into the water and watched the clouds for a minute. I laid my head on his chest and he put his arm around my shoulders. He then wrapped his other arm around me and brought me into a hug. I looked up at him at the same time that he looked down at me, and we both smiled. He started to bring his head down toward mine for a kiss, and when his lips were about a centimeter away from mine, I burst out into laughter.

"What is it?" He sounded almost offended, but I couldn't help the giggles that came out.

"You're not going to throw me in the water again are you?" He smiled and rolled his eyes at me.

"At this rate, maybe I will." I giggled at him, then put my hand on the back of his neck and brought him down into a kiss. It was just like the kiss that he and I shared in the Macalania springs. It was passionate, sweet, and gentle...the best kind of kiss. It was then and there when I realized that my life was finally reaching perfection.


	5. Departure

5. Departure

"Wow, do I have horrible timing or what?" Tidus and I broke our kiss to see Rikku standing about ten feet away from us holding Vidina. I gave her a look that said 'what-the-hell-are-you-doing-here??' and of course she ignored it as she walked over to us. "What's going on, you guys?"

"Umm....not much, Rikku." I didn't mean to be rude with my tone, but I really wanted to be alone with Tidus for a little while, and she majorly just ruined the moment that he and I were having. "What do you want?"

"Buddy and Brother are here, and I'm going to go back to Bikanel now. I just wanted to see if you guys could watch Vidina." She handed the baby over to me who squealed in delight. Great. I wanted romantic private time with my boyfriend, and instead I'm stuck babysitting. "Paine is going with us as well."

"She's going back to Bevelle right?" I asked as I bounced Vidina a little bit in my arms. Rikku nodded and shrugged.

"She's going to go see what's goin' on with Baralai and stuff, maybe visit Nooj along the way." Rikku fixed the headband that was on her head and sighed.

"What was the sigh for, Rikku?" Tidus said as he raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed again and crossed her arms.

"Well, _obviously_ it's because I know who will be in Bikanel at the same time that I will be, and I don't want to see him."

I shook my head at my cousin because she wasn't fooling anyone. "Okay Rikku, you're one of those people who have transparent feelings. I know that you want to see Gippal, so don't even try to fool us. Hell, you said so yourself yesterday."

"Well, okay, maybe I do want to see him, but he can be so cocky and so arrogant....and soo..." She let out a frustrated sigh at the thought of Gippal. "Gippal lyh yhhuo dra becc uid uv sa...pid ra ghufc E fyhd res."

I didn't need to know Al Bhed to realize what my cousin just said. (She said, "Gippal can annoy the piss out of me...but he knows I want him" in case you wondered) The poor girl. I'm sure the fact that now that I have Tidus he and I have been lovey dovey...and she doesn't really have anyone to go to. "Rikku, as much as you hate to admit it, seeing Gippal will probably be a good thing for you. I mean, I'm not saying that you should forget your new friends, but seeing old childhood friends is always a good thing too."

"Yeah, besides, I do miss screaming at him in Al Bhed." She giggled at the thought. "Oh...good times." Tidus and I both had to smile at the dreamy look that Rikku had on her face. She snapped out of it quickly and shook her head. "Yeah, anyway, I'm going to go, okay?"

I handed Vidina over to Tidus for a second and gave Rikku a huge hug. This was going to be the first time that we were separated since...well, it's been a long time. She was practically my sister, and I was definitely going to miss her. "You better keep in touch, you hear!"

"Of course, Yunie. I'll come visit...it shouldn't take long before Home is up and running again. Basically all the Al Bhed in Spira will be there. For as lousy as my dad is at being a father, he is actually pretty decent at being a leader." She scrunched her nose at what she just said. "Kinda scary isn't it?"

"Well, that's Cid for ya I guess. You better say hi to him for me, okay?" Tears started to well up in my eyes as I hugged her. "I, um...think my eyes are leaking."

Rikku couldn't help but giggle as she looked at the tears welling up in my eyes. "Oh, Yunie...it's not like we'll never see each other again." I knew she was right so I just smiled. I took Vidina out of Tidus' hands so he could hug Rikku as well. "Well...I'll miss you guys."

"Hey, Rikku..." I said with a smile, "Be careful with Gippal okay?? Be a good girl."

She flashed an innocent smile and blinked a couple of times. "I _am_ a good girl. You don't have to worry about me, Yunie."

"Yeah, okay." I said sarcastically. "Just don't get caught."

Rikku giggled at the thought, "don't worry, I'm careful." I had to sigh and laugh at her. Tidus and I waved as she walked away. After she was out of earshot, I sighed for a couple of reasons. The first one was obviously because Rikku just left, and the second one was that since Tidus and I had baby sitting duties, we really couldn't do anything else.

"So um...how long are Wakka and Lulu going to be gone?" I knew Tidus was going to ask that. I could've bet 100 gil on it. Well, mainly because if he wouldn't have said it, I would've because I was thinking the same damn thing.

"I have no idea, but I'm kinda hoping that they're back soon because this kind of put a damper on the mood." Tidus nodded in agreement as I looked down at Vidina. He was innocently sucking his thumb...oh, he's so adorable.

"I guess we should get used to it though," Tidus said as he ran his fingers through Vidina's hair. I looked up at him in question and he simply kissed me on the lips. "Well, we'll have to do this when we have kids, Yuna."

I have no idea why that thought scared the hell out of me. Me? A mother?? I'm only 19 years old!! Having kids really scared me. Tidus and I aren't even married yet...so how can we think of kids at this time? I realized that I couldn't just stand there with a blank look on my face...I had to say _something_...but I wasn't sure what to say. So I just kind of spit out words, "Yeah, uh, um...sure. Maybe, uh, sometime in the, heh heh, future, Tidus. But not...right...away."

He only laughed at me. "Yuna, I know that. I came back less than twenty four hours ago. I'm not expecting us to have kids right away. But...someday...right?"

"Yes, that I'll agree with you on." Tidus and I started to walk back into Besaid. "Ya know, it's funny. Two years ago I never thought that I would make it to my 18th birthday, but look, here I am...talking about having kids."

"Kinda scary isn't it?" I smiled at Tidus as we continued walking back to Besaid.


	6. Unable To Break Old Habits

**6. Unable to Break Old Habits**

"Make him stop!!!" Tidus said as he covered his head with his pillow once he heard Vidina screaming at the top of his lungs. I looked over at the clock and realized that it was 6:30 in the morning.

"My god, I don't know how Lulu and Wakka do it!!!" I said as I crawled out of bed to get my robe and then to walk over to where Vidina's crib was set up in my room.

"When are they coming back?!?!" Tidus asked as his head was under his pillow. (How I understood what he said I have no idea since his speech was muffled)

A sigh was my answer as I put on my robe since I didn't have an actual word answer. I didn't even see Wakka and Lulu before they left, so how was I supposed to know? However, waking up to feed Vidina for the fourth time tonight was really starting to make me cranky. I walked up to Vidina's crib, and Vidina was screaming his head off. Damn, for such little lungs, he sure could scream. I reached in his crib and picked him up. I walked with him into the kitchen (he was finally starting to calm down) to heat up a bottle for him. As the bottle was in the microwave, Tidus walked into the kitchen in only his boxers. I had to smile in amusement at his tousled blonde hair as he yawned.

"What?" He asked me mid-yawn.

"The whole hair thing you've got going on there." I reached out and touched his hair that was sticking out in every direction with one hand as the other held Vidina.

"Yeah, I like it." He smiled at me as he opened the microwave and grabbed the bottle. He tested it on his arm to make sure it wasn't too warm and then handed it to me. "Here ya go."

I started to feed Vidina his bottle and Tidus started up a pot of coffee. I was very impressed with Tidus and I. Even though we were still very young, we were able to handle a baby. Sure, I don't think we're mature enough to have one yet (um...ow), but we're capable of babysitting an infant. Vidina is a little bit over a month old, so he's still quite a challenge. I must admit, he is so freaking adorable, but I'm not appreciating his sleeping habits. Now that it's 6:30am, he'll be up for a while. Who needs an alarm clock, ya know?

"So what's on our itinerary today?" I asked Tidus as he shrugged his shoulders. I had to laugh at him as he yawned again. He is definitely not a morning person. I'm not saying I'm Miss Sunshine in the morning or anything, but I can at least see colors before ten in the morning.

"I'm praying that Wakka and Lulu will come back today." Tidus said as he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard.

"Oh, come on now, don't be cranky. You said so yourself that we should get used to having a baby around."

"Is it too late to take that back?" I nodded at him and he groaned. "Dammit."

After I was done feeding Vidina, I placed him in his play pen that was in the living room to let him play with the copious amount of toys that were in there. Most of them were from Rikku and I, although a lot of them were from the Aurochs and Wakka. I walked around the house opening the curtains because the sun already rose about an hour previous. Sunshine streamed into the house and made it a lot more homey. I cracked a window a little bit and let the cool morning air flow inside as Tidus walked over to me and handed me a cup of coffee.

"You are a lifesaver," I said as I took a sip.

"No, this is a lifesaver," Tidus said as he held up his mug. Although Tidus and I weren't particularly fond of coffee, we both knew that we wouldn't be able to function this morning if it wasn't for it. Tidus put his arm around my waist as we both gazed outside.

That afternoon as I was clearing the dishes, there was a knock at the door. I grabbed a towel to wipe my hands and opened the door.

"Oh my god, Lulu, I'm so glad it's you." I couldn't help but show my enthusiasm when I saw her.

"Is my son that much trouble?" Lulu said with a straight face, but she knew that wasn't what I meant. I think.

"It's not that, it's just that I have so much more respect for you and Wakka now." She gave me a odd look and I continued. "I have no idea how you can wake up about eighty times a night to feed Vidina, change his diaper, calm him down when he has a bad dream..."

"It's the life of being a parent. You'll be able to understand it some day, Yuna." Lulu and I walked into the living room where Vidina was sleeping. Yeah, it's cool, ya know. He wakes me up a million times in the middle of the night and he can sleep the next day. Whereas I had stuff to do. Lulu reached down and picked up Vidina.

"I really appreciate you watching him for me, Yuna. Wakka and I needed to get away for a little while."

"Yep, it's no problem. I love the little guy." I grabbed the other pair of pajamas that he wore the previous day off the edge of the crib and handed them to Lulu. "Vidina loves his aunt Yuna and uncle Tidus, so it's all good."

At that moment Lulu looked around. "Where is Tidus anyway?"

"Oh, the Aurochs came and grabbed him about an hour ago to go train and stuff. I think Tidus is going to play for the Aurochs again."

"Oh really?" Lulu said as she rolled her eyes. "This now means that Wakka will play again. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I know how much Wakka enjoyed it and everything..."

"But...?" I asked as Lulu and I started to walk toward the door. "It'll be good for Wakka go on the field again."

"I'm just worried that's all. We all remember what happened to Wakka during your pilgrimage. I can't stand to see him like that again." I loved when Lulu talked sweetly about Wakka. I'm not saying that Lulu isn't a compassionate person, but she's a hard egg to crack. Wakka, Vidina and I are her three soft spots.

"However, after that, he and Tidus played for the Aurochs and he was fine. Hell, they actually won the championships a few times." Lulu nodded at me and we both walked outside. Lulu walked back to her place and I stood outside to just admire the atmosphere. It was a gorgeous day in Besaid. The sun was shining, the bird were chirping, the young children were all playing outside...and then I heard a familiar voice yell out, "Yunie!!! Fa'ja kud caneuic dnuipma!"

"Rikku? What are you doing here?" I said as she and Gippal ran toward me. "Hey, Gippal."

"Hey, Yuna." Gippal said as he panted a little from running.

Rikku grabbed me by my shoulders, "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, Rikku, I heard you. But understanding you is a different story. What did you say?"

"I said that we've got serious trouble! Something is happening in Bevelle!"

"What?" I said as Rikku let go of me. "What's going on in Bevelle?"

"We're not sure yet. All we know is that Bevelle's gates are closed to everyone. No one can leave, no one can enter." Gippal said as he put his hand on his hip.

"Also, we heard word that the Praetor was kidnapped!" My eyes opened wide as Rikku spoke.

"Baralai..." I said softly as Rikku nodded her head rapidly. "Shit..."

"Well, Yunie? Are we going to save Baralai?" Rikku said as a million thoughts raced through my head. I wanted to retire from this saving the world stuff. Hell, I've saved it twice, isn't that good enough for Spira? Can't someone else save the world for once? At that moment, Tidus—who was still dripping wet from blitzball practice—walked over to us.

"Hey Rikku, what's goin' on?" Before Rikku had a chance to answer, Tidus could sense that I was definitely going through a thinking process. "Yuna?"

"Um, we're going to go on a little vacation." I said simply to Tidus. Tidus looked confused and Rikku squealed.

"Gullwing Yunie is back in action!!!!"

_Oh boy,_ I thought. _Here I go again..._


	7. My Destiny?

7. Yuna's Destiny?

"Yuna, why are you doing this?" Tidus asked me as I started to shove some clothes into a tiny suitcase. He was still slightly damp from practicing blitzball with the Aurochs, so he was drying his hair with a towel. I was running around grabbing things from different parts of the house, silently praying that I had everything. I didn't answer him because I didn't know the answer. Why was I such a goody goody?? Honestly! Paine once told me that I jump into things head first, and she's right. Even though I don't want to go save the world again, I knew that I had to. I had a stern look on my face the entire time, and Tidus grabbed my shoulder as I grabbed my jean shorts, white shirt, arm bands, and pink hood....my adventure clothes. "Okay first of all, I love that outfit on you. You look so sexy in it."

I gave him a glare and just sighed. "Why am I doing this, Tidus?!" I asked as I threw my outfit down on the bed next to my suitcase out of anger.

"Um, I have no idea why you're doing this. That's why I asked you." I sighed again and picked up the outfit I just threw down. I started to change into my 'adventure outfit,' and Tidus started to take off his wet clothes. I really wanted the mutual stripping down to go somewhere...but I was too pissed off to do anything sexual right now. I had to catch a damn airship to fly all over Spira again.

"I'm not the way I used to be!" I said as I put on my jean shorts. They were slightly more 'break and enterish' than the flare jeans that I was wearing earlier. "I'm growing up! My last adventure was to find you, and look! I found you! Now all I want to do is die surrounded by fat grandchildren, but I guess that'll never happen!"

"Why do you say that?" Tidus asked me as he noticed me having issues with my arm bands. They're yellow and tie on the sides, making it nearly impossible to tie them by myself. Rikku usually was the one to help me, but she and Gippal went to the shop on the island to pick up some supplies and stuff. Tidus, who was only in his boxers, helped me with my arm bands so I would get overly frustrated. "You're still young, Yuna. You have plenty of time for stuff like that in the future."

"But why can't the future be now? Why do I always have to jump in the fray like this? Why can't I just say 'no' for a change?" I let out a frustrated scream and started to change into my shirt. Tidus was either way too interested in watching me change or just didn't know the words to say because he was quiet. "I'm not even sure if I have it in me to fight anymore!"

"Okay, let's kind of put this in my position now, because I haven't fought anything in two years. I got to be a fairly decent fighter, but now I don't know if I can lift a sword anymore. Hell, I don't even _have_ a sword anymore." He sat down on the bed and thought for a second. I put on my pink hood and sat seductively on his lap. He put his hand on my thigh and kissed my shoulder.

"You'll be fine, I'm sure of it. Besides, I still have one of your swords." Tidus gave me a queer look and I stood up and showed him my collection of dresspheres and garment grids that I kept in my drawer. "I don't know why I even kept all these."

"What are they?" He asked as I put them in my suitcase.

"They're the garment grids and dresspheres that I talked about. Ya know, the invention that Shinra made?" Tidus nodded as he put his fingers through his slightly damp hair. He looks so sexy with wet hair. It reminds me of how we kissed at the Macalania springs...I wish every day could've been like that one. "Anyway, in my warrior dressphere, I have one of your swords that I used. I really don't use that dressphere, so you can have the sword. It's...the one that Wakka gave you."

"You kept it?" He asked me as he started to put on his black shorts. Also his 'adventure clothes.'

"Of course I did. I mean, hell, Tidus, look at my outfit. It has the symbol of the Zanarkand Abes right on the front of it. What do you think _my_ goal was for the last two years?" He smiled as he ran his finger along the symbol. "My goal was to find you...and I just ran into the Shuyin/Lenne situation at the same time. It was the fact that he looked so much like you that I pursued it more. If he wouldn't have looked like you, I probably wouldn't have cared."

"Yeah, I think that you would've cared. You love the people of Spira, Yuna. You would've gone and helped everyone." For some reason, him saying that really pissed me off.

"I don't want to be that way anymore! I want to live a normal life!" Even as I said that, I knew that it wasn't possible for me to live a normal life anymore. I was the High Summoner who defeated Sin for good. That was basically my ticket away from living a normal life. Not to mention that I know what goes bump in the night...

"Yuna, I think that it's more or less your destiny." I tried not to blow up at him...mainly because I knew that he was right. I huffed and then started to lace up my boots. "Seriously, think about it. Ever since you were younger, you knew you wanted to be a summoner. You knew that it would cost you your life, but you told me that if people could rest in their beds without fear of Sin, even for a little while...it would be worth it. I remember your words that you spoke to me that day on the Mi'ihen Highroad, Yuna."

"But...why did it have to be me?" I know that I was just being difficult, but I couldn't stand it. I hated being the good one all the time. Yeah, adventure was fun, but I could name about a million things that were better than getting your ass kicked by random fiends in every part of Spira.

"I asked myself the same question when Auron told me that he was watching over me." He started to put his shirt on as I finished lacing my boots. "Sometimes, it's just destiny."

"Well, destiny sucks my ass then." I said as I searched my closet for my belt/gun holder. "Ah, there it is." I said as I picked it up and put it around my waist. I then found a box that contained my two guns. "Wow, it's been a while since I held these puppies."

"Those are some nice guns ya got there," I smiled at Tidus' remark and put them in the holsters. Tidus finished getting dressed and I started to brush my hair. It was a little shorter than usual, it was the length that it was when I started my adventure to find Shuyin. However, I did cut the rat tail thing that I had going on. I have no idea what the hell I was thinking when I grew that. Not to mention that sometimes when I turned around it would brush my shoulders or something and I thought it was someone trying to get my attention. I looked pretty dumb turning around in a circle trying to figure out what it was. I threw my brush into my bag and zipped it up. "Wow, you're taking a lot of shit with you."

"It's funny, I never took anything with me on my previous adventures besides myself. I don't know why I feel like I need to bring all my possessions with me." I sighed as I put on my necklace that was lying on my dresser. I looked at myself in the mirror and tried not to cry. "Why am I doing this, Tidus?"

He came up behind me and put his hands gently on my shoulders. The second he did this, I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Something about it felt so familiar. I wanted to whisper the words, "don't touch me," to him. Why would I want to say something like that? I wanted him to touch me. I wanted to feel his arms around me, holding me tight. He then whipped me around into a hug. He was almost rough about it by the way he moved me like that. He then put his arms around me into a embrace and held his cheek to the top of my head. It all happened so fast that I didn't get to react to it while it was happening. Then, I felt like my mind returned to me and I looked up at Tidus in pure horror, and to my surprise....he looked at me in the same way.

"Whoa..." Tidus said as he backed away from me slowly. "What...what was that?"

"Tidus..." I said as my eyes widened. "Why is this happening?"

_Shuyin...._

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**I hope you're all enjoying this so far...but I would like to hear some reviews!! It kind of started off slow, but now the action is going to start....**


	8. A New Adventure

**A minor note about this chapter...there is some Al Bhed sentences in it, so you might want to find an Al Bhed translator online. That's how I was able to translate it quickly and accurately. I found a really good one, but i'm not sure if i'm able to put the website in here. Just go to Google and type in "Al Bhed Translator," and you should find it. (Sorry if it's a pain...but it's not really relevant to the story...it's just a little humor. It didn't seem right to put the translation right next to it...it seemed too weird.)  
  
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8. A New Adventure

"How come whenever I enter your room I feel like I'm interrupting something?" Tidus and I both jumped perhaps a foot when we heard Rikku speak. We both whipped our heads toward the door and we saw Rikku and Gippal standing there.

"I told her she should knock." Gippal stated when Tidus and I both had blank looks on our faces. Tidus and I could only look at each other without saying a word.

"Are you guys okay?" Rikku asked as she walked over to us. "You guys look totally pale."

"Um, yeah, we're...fine..." I said as I cleared my throat and shook my head in hopes that all the bad memories would go away. It was exactly like Shuyin and I in the Farplane...The way he put his hands on my shoulders, the way he whipped me around, the way he hugged me...the way I felt...What is going on here? I exhaled slowly as I walked over to my bed to grab my bags.

"Okay, are we all set?" Rikku said as she bounced on her toes. That was definitely a clear sign that she was excited to go on a new adventure. I didn't even feel like we were going on a real adventure though...we were just going to check everything out and see what was going on. Maybe Baralai just left Bevelle without warning, who knows? I wouldn't put it past Yevon (or anything with the word 'Yevon' somewhere in its name) to make a big deal out of nothing.

"Yeah, I guess so." We all walked out of the house and as we started to walk out of Besaid, I stopped in my tracks.

"What is it, Yunie?" Rikku said as I gave my stuff to her for a second. She was shocked and didn't have time for a reaction as I ran to Lulu and Wakka's house. I couldn't just leave without saying a word again. Wakka told me that I caused a huge fuss, and I knew that I couldn't do that to Lulu, Wakka, or anyone in Besaid again. I had to at least warn them that I was leaving again for a short while. (The shorter the better really...)

I pushed aside the curtain to Wakka and Lulu's house and Lulu jumped perhaps a foot. "Oh, sorry, Lulu."

"My god, Yuna, you scared me. What is it?" I walked into her house and gave her a hug. Lulu hugged me back, but was kind of hesitant about it.

"I'll be back, Lulu. I guarantee it." Lulu exhaled as I let go of the hug.

"Where are you going this time, Yuna?" She asked as I reached into Vidina's crib to play with the baby.

"I'm going to Bevelle. A friend of mine is missing, and I want to see what's going on there. I heard that Bevelle is all shut off and stuff, and I just want to make sure that New Yevon isn't pulling any tricks or anything again. Even though New Yevon and the Youth League kind of joined forces, I don't trust either group." I leaned over and kissed Vidina on the forehead.

"Just be careful, Yuna." She reached over and gave me another hug. As she had her arms around me, she exhaled. I looked up at her in questioning. "You follow your heart, Yuna. That's an admirable trait to have. Never lose it."

"I won't." I started to walk toward the door so I wouldn't burst into tears. "Would you tell Wakka that I said goodbye?"

"Of course I will. Take care of yourself." I told her that I would and I walked outside. I took a couple of deep breaths to stop the tears that were welling up in my eyes as I met up with Tidus, Gippal, and Rikku near the edge of town. Tidus put his arm around me to comfort me, and we all walked toward the Celsius.

Being on the Celsius again was like returning home for me. I lived on that ship for so long, and as painful as it is to say it, it was good to be back. We all walked onto the bridge where Buddy and Brother were in their usual spots. Wow, just like old times. It was strange not to have Shinra with us, but he left to go work on a huge project for Home. I guess he just didn't want to go on another adventure. Brother jumped out of the cockpit and gave me a huge hug.

"Tysh Yuna, E'ja landyehmo seccat ryjehk ouin payido ynuiht sa ymm dra desa." I had no idea what he said to me, but by the look of disgust on Rikku, Gippal and Buddy's face, I'm glad I didn't understand him.

"Oui'mm hajan ajan maynh, femm oui?" Rikku said to Brother as she rubbed her forehead in shame of what Brother said. "E's zicd kuehk du bnadaht dryd oui'ja hajan syta yho caqiym nasyngc dufynt ran."

"Crid ib, Rikku," Brother said as he stormed back to his seat.

"All right, everyone," I said getting a little impatient because they were talking in Al Bhed, "I want to understand what you're saying. I don't want you to say anything about me."

"Don't worry about it, Yuna," Gippal said as he shook his head. That was definitely a hint that they were talking about me and I shouldn't know what they were saying. That was fine with me. "So, we're off to Bevelle?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I said as I leaned up against Tidus. I almost felt bad for Tidus. I mean, he's been back for a little less than two days and we're already on another adventure. Hell, I'm still tired from the last adventure that I was on, and here I am, on another one. "Do we actually know anything? Besides the fact that Baralai is missing?"

"Well, we're not even sure of that," Buddy said as I gave him an annoyed glance. "We only heard rumors that the Praetor is missing, meaning Baralai."

"But, we're not even sure if the rumor is an actual fact?" I said in disbelief. "I mean, rumors go around like crazy in Spira. I mean, look at the rumors that have flown around the last few years; mainly the one saying that the Al Bhed were saying that I was a traitor during my pilgrimage. Anyone remember that one?"

"Even though I haven't been around the last two years, Yuna, it's obvious that whenever rumors are flying around, Yevon or New Yevon or whatever it's called these days uses that as a way to protect themselves." I thought about it for a second and realized that Tidus is right. "The only reason why they said that the Al Bhed were spreading rumors was so they could use you. You were their only hope in defeating Sin."

A sigh escaped my lips as I walked over to the edge of the airship. Even though we haven't taken off yet, I wasn't sure where to go first. Gippal walked over to me, leaned against the airship, and rubbed his forehead. "Here's the thing. If we do go straight to Bevelle, they might just let us in." I looked at him in confusion.

"Why would they do that?" I asked as Rikku hopped her way over to me as well. "I think I've betrayed Yevon in every way imaginable."

"No, that's not true, Yunie." She said in a perky tone. "Even though they said that you betrayed Yevon...and we did destroy Yunalesca and Yu Yevon...but we saved a lot of people's lives in the process. You destroyed Sin and became High Summoner. Plus I think that you formed an alliance with both the Youth League and New Yevon last year when you helped contain their squabbling."

We all gave her a surprised look for giving such an intellectual answer. Gippal put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair, "Wow, way to go, Cid's girl."

She gave him an annoyed glance as she fixed her hair. "How many times do I have to tell you that I have a name, Gippal!?" She let out a frustrated groan and crossed her arms.

"I only do it cuz it pisses you off." He gave her a smirk and I quickly smiled, then wiped the smile off my face. As entertaining as it was to watch Gippal and Rikku rip on eachother, I wanted to get this mission thing done as quickly as possible and I wasn't in the mood for jokes and games.

"Okay, since we're really not getting anywhere we might as well head for Bevelle. Rikku actually had a good point and they might let us in. Or maybe just let me in." I said as I paced a little bit. Tidus stood right in my path so I would stop.

"Whoa, hold it right there. I am not letting you go in the hands of Yevon alone. Who knows if it's a trap or something?" He put his finger underneath my chin and lifted my chin up so he could look me in the eyes. "I just came back here Yuna, and I'm not going to lose you."

I sighed and tried to think of another option. I highly doubted that they would just let us all waltz into Bevelle while they're having a complete shutdown. Even if I asked the guards, they wouldn't let everyone go through, I didn't have enough power. I gasped as an idea sparked into my head. I turned toward them as I had a really guilty look on my face. "Um, I have a really dumb idea."

**Thank you everyone who has responded!!! I have been extremely happy with the way the story has been turning out so far...up until now. I am having a bit of trouble with wording the next couple of chapters...so give me a few days until I can be happy with the product!**


	9. My Really Dumb Idea

9. My Really Dumb Idea

"What is it, Yuna?" Buddy said to me as I started to pace again.

"I'm not even sure if this is going to work, and like I said, it might be a really stupid idea." They all looked at me in suspense to see what I was going to say. I stopped pacing, clasped my hands together, and faced them. "Okay, Rikku, you remember what happened after New Yevon and the Youth League became allies right?"

"Um, they didn't try to kill each other anymore?" I knew she didn't have the slightest clue what I was talking about, so I shook my head.

"Well, okay, they aren't trying to kill each other anymore, I guess that's true. But what did they try to do with me?" She gave me a blank look and I sighed. Of course she didn't remember. "Don't you remember how they wanted me to be in New Yevon?"

Rikku nodded, but she still wasn't getting the picture. I think that the guys were starting to understand from the looks on their faces, but I'm not sure if they knew my intentions with it. "I'm still not understanding this, Yunie."

"Okay, well, the more and more I think about it, I think if I was to tell them that I wanted to talk to the Praetor about becoming a member of New Yevon." Everyone's jaw dropped.

"This isn't a game, Yuna," Tidus said as he shot me a glare. He surprised me by the look on his face; he's never looked at me in that way before. "What, you're going to just go into Bevelle, say, 'hey, I want to love Yevon again,' and then only be a member of New Yevon long enough to get to the bottom of what is going on??"

"I never said that I was going to do it. I could just say that I wanted to talk to the Praetor about it. Ya know, kind of see what I'd be in for. I know that it sounds crazy, but I think it might work." I had a smile on my face as I looked at everyone else...who did not have smiles on their faces. They looked worried, confused, and concerned about what I was thinking all at the same time. "Oh come on, it might!"

"Yunie, okay. Let's think about this logically." I tried not to give her a look because something coming logically out of Rikku's mouth didn't sound feasible. I humored her though and let her talk. "What if they know that you are dragging them into a trap?"

"One person bringing an entire city into a trap?" Buddy jumped out of his seat and walked over to me. "As crazy as Yuna's plan sounds, I can't think of anything crazier to do."

"Oh, so you mean in order to fight crazies...you have to fight crazy?" Rikku was all confused. The look on her face explained it all. "I still don't think it'll work."

"I don't want you hurt, Yuna." Tidus said as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. "You mean too much to me, and I don't want you to fly off the handle and do something impractical."

"Hey, I don't see anyone else coming up with any ideas!" I said as I put my hands on my hips. Everyone stayed quiet and looked down as I looked at them all. "Yeah, my point exactly."

"Why don't we just go down to Bevelle and see if we can sneak in? I mean, we've pulled an assault on Bevelle before, why not just go into Bevelle the same way we did then?" I gave Tidus a confused look and he explained himself. "Remember? Rikku and Brother, you were there. When Yuna was marrying Seymour? We flew the airship into Bevelle, slid down the ropes, and saved Yuna."

"The only difference is that they'll be expecting something like that," I said as I looked up at Tidus. I could see the look of hurt on his face from remembering the memories from that day. The look on Tidus' face as I had to kiss Seymour was enough to break my heart. Of course, it looked like Tidus was going to break Seymour's face, but what can ya do. The man was an evil, psychotic bastard and we had to kill him four damn times before I was able to send him. "They won't ever expect me to go to Bevelle and say that I'm considering to be in New Yevon."

"Hmmm," Brother said as he looked at me. "I've always said that you've been crazy, but you might be right."

"However, they were expecting us to save you while you were getting married to Seymour too, though," Rikku said as put her hands behind her head. "Also, if they know that you know that we know that we heard that they said that Baralai's missing...they might think that you're only trying to..." She stopped for a second all confused. "I'm so confused at what I just said."

We all couldn't help laughing at her. Gippal even playfully gave her a push on the shoulder as he said, "Oh Rikku, you're always good for a laugh."

"But seriously, I had a point. Let me try to say something clearer." She inhaled and then exhaled deeply before she started to speak again. "Okay, well, Gippal and I know that something is up with Bevelle and we told you. Right?"

"Right," I said slowly as she nodded.

"Okay, and since everyone in Bevelle knows that we know you, I'm pretty sure that they know that we would tell you, because you're the High Summoner and stuff, right?"

"Right," I said again, actually understanding where she was going with this.

"Well, since mayhem has struck with Bevelle, it would be kinda coincidental that you would pick that time out of all times to be like, 'hey guys, I've changed my mind!'" I sighed at her and wasn't sure how to respond.

"However, if she would go up to Bevelle and want to talk the Praetor, maybe they would let the cat out of the bag and say that they need her help." I raised an eyebrow at Tidus' point. Hmmm....good point, ya know? That's my man.

"Hell, that would probably work." Buddy said as he scratched his head. "Although, wouldn't that technically be using you, Yuna?"

"If it means that we'll find Baralai and give peace to Bevelle again, it might be worth it." I remember that Lulu told me that since I was the high summoner, people would use that against me. I don't want to be used, but I want everything to be okay in Bevelle... "I think we should go for it."

"Just because you are the High Summoner doesn't mean that you have to go running to everyone's aid all the time," Gippal said as he crossed his arms. Rikku smacked him really hard against the chest for his comment, even though I knew that he had a point. "Ow! What the hell was that for!"

"Ev fa fyhdat ouin ubeheuh, fa fuimt'ja ycgat vun ed!" Rikku said as she crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. I knew she was defending me, so I didn't even bother asking her what she said.

"Rikku, it's okay. He does have a point." Rikku's jaw dropped slightly as I said that, and I started to walk over to Gippal. I kind of got right in his face, but I didn't care. "However, Gippal, even though I know that I don't _have_ to run to everyone's aid, this is concerning two of my friends. People can do whatever they want to me, but they don't fuck with my friends, boyfriend, or loved ones. That's the way it works. So when something comes up where they're involved, I tend to run to help. It's just the way I am and I'm really sorry if you have a problem with that."

There was silence on the bridge for about a good thirty seconds as everyone thought about what I just said. Even I opened my eyes wide and dropped my jaw as I just reflected on that. I never speak like that...it was very out of character for me. Even when I spoke my mind to Nooj when he wanted to sacrifice himself to save Baralai from Vegnagun and Shuyin, I didn't speak in a harsh tone or swear like that.

"Gippal..." I said as he smiled at me.

"Hey, wow, way to go, Yuna." He said as he patted me on the back. "I'm proud of you! I never knew that you could stand up for yourself like that. I think you've been hanging around with Cid's girl too much."

"Hey! I don't...Okay, yes I do." She said with a proud smile. We actually all chuckled at that comment. Good, we needed something to lighten up the mood from my little outburst.

"Nooj!" I said randomly as everyone looked at me. "I mean, does he know? Shouldn't we let him know what's going on and maybe he can come up with some better planning suggestions that I am able to have right now?"

"Yuna, I think we should still do your plan. Let's go to Bevelle and say that you want to talk to the Praetor, but also, you're right again. I think that maybe if you had the Meyvn of the Youth League with you, I think that it would make more sense." I smiled at Buddy because he was right. "Everyone in Spira knows that you are all friends, so you might be able to convince them that you want to talk to the Praetor."

"Unless Nooj is too busy boinking Leblanc to leave the bed and help you look for Baralai," Rikku said in a sarcastic tone. She then made a face. "Ew, I wish I wouldn't have said that because now I'm getting scary images in my head."

"Well, we might be able to pry him off of her when we tell him that Baralai is in trouble. Think about it, he did go into the depths of the Farplane for him, so he might just go into Bevelle." I said as everyone nodded. "Okay, so here's the plan. We go to Guadosalam first, talk to Nooj and Leblanc, go to Bevelle and wish to speak to the Praetor. Right?"

"Yeah, then hopefully Baralai will have some news on Paine. Or rather, hopefully someone has news on Baralai so we can ask Baralai about Paine...or something." Gippal said as I started to pace back and forth again.

"Yep, sounds good." I said as I watched Brother hopped into the cockpit again.

"Haqd cdub: Guadosalam!" Brother put the Celsius into full speed and I walked off the bridge.

Tidus followed me and stopped me by grabbing onto my shoulder when I got to the elevator. I was still quite pissed off at myself for bitching at Gippal like that. I sighed and shook my head while he looked at me.

"Yuna...are you okay?" I looked away from him and toward the side of the airship because I wasn't sure how to comment to that. Was I okay? Everything has just been so weird the last couple of days that I didn't know how to handle it. I wanted to be back in Besaid preparing my wedding with Tidus at this point, not trying to figure out the mess that is commonly known as Spira once again.

"Tidus, I have no idea what the hell is going on with myself right now." I said as I broke out into goosebumps.We walked into the elevator and headed up toward the deck. I was in the need for fresh air. "Everything has just been so weird. It's just that I've been having out of body experiences lately, and I don't know why. It's like, I'm on the outside of myself hearing myself say the things I am, seeing myself do the things I do. I'm not thinking for myself, and I'm not sure why."

"You're probably just stressed. You had a big week and you haven't slept very much." We exited the elevator and I walked over to the Gullwing statue that we had on the front of the Celsius. I leaned against it and Tidus stood a little behind me, just letting the wind hit his face. "You probably didn't notice it, but I felt you toss and turn all night. You would wimper in your sleep every once and a while, and when I would put my arms around you, you would be okay again. Last night, you just burst into tears saying the words, 'don't leave me' over and over again. I repeatedly said that I wouldn't leave you and that I was yours always, but you were almost inconsolable for about twenty minutes. I tried waking you up, but no matter how hard I shook your shoulders, you still moved and wouldn't open your eyes. Then, for no reason, you calmed down and smiled."

"I have weird sleeping habits I guess," I said as I moved a strand of hair out of my face. "I think it was one of those things where I was without you for so long that I yearned for you every night."

"I don't think that's it, Yuna," he said as he walked up next to me. "I talked to Rikku about it when you went to go say good bye to Lulu and Wakka. She said that the only night that you had sleeping problems was one night when you were wearing your song outfit."

"My songstress dressphere..." I said as I trailed off slightly. "That night that I was wearing it, I had a dream of you and I. It was the Lenne and Shuyin story but with you and I in it instead."

"What do you mean? The story of how they were shot?" I nodded at him and exhaled. "It's funny how I actually know what you're talking about."

"I want to know what this all means, I'm just so confused." I rested my chin on my wrist and he put a hand on my back. He rubbed my back as I looked off into the distance. "It's just all so coincidental."

"Maybe it's just that, a coincidence." I know that he was just trying to relax me, but it wasn't exactly working. He put his hands on my waist and turned me around into a hug. I rested my head on his chest, praying that I wouldn't have a Shuyin/Lenne feeling again like he and I did last time he hugged me like this.


	10. Visions In The Farplane

10. Visions in the Farplane

When we arrived at Guadosalam, we were greeted by Tromell. He is doing a very good job running Guadosalam, and peace is finally returning to his people. They actually have the Farplane in working condition, and nothing is going haywire; people can finally be reunited with their loved ones in memory once again. Tromell brought us into the manor where he now lived once again. The Syndicate disbanded recently due to the fact that Leblanc gave up being a sphere hunter. She and Nooj were now officially dating and she wanted to spend every waking moment with him. I really hoped that I wasn't like that with Tidus. Yes, he is the love of my life but I love my independence as well. After speaking with Tromell for a couple of minutes, we walked to Nooj and Leblanc's house, which was on the west side of the city. I knocked on the door and the handle turned.

"Hey," Nooj said as he reached his hand out to shake Gippal's. "I was wondering how you have been ever since that day that you went home, Yuna."

"Yeah, I'm good," I said as I quickly introduced Tidus to Nooj. " Nooj, Tidus. Tidus, Nooj."

"Nice to meet you, man," Tidus said as they shook each other's hands.

"We have a problem though." I said quickly.

"Ah, okay, come on in." He said as he moved out of the way so we could walk inside. The second that we walked into the living room, we saw Leblanc, who was in a very...revealing, satin robe.

"AHH!" Rikku said as she covered her eyes from Leblanc. "If that isn't going to give me five years in therapy, I have no idea what will!"

"Come on, love," Leblanc said as she walked over to Rikku, who was still convering her face. "I'm sure you have outfits like this as well."

"Well..." Rikku said as she moved her hands from her face and smiled innocently. That definitely sparked Gippal's attention, and he looked at her.

"Oh really?" He said with a huge smile. "I think we need a modeling show later..."

"Yeah, keep dreaming." Even though Rikku said that in a sarcastic manner, I could tell that she wanted to...Asap. I just prayed that I would be nowhere near the two of them tonight. Leblanc walked upstairs to put on something a little more modest—not like any of her outfits were modest, but they were definitely better than a short, satin robe.

"So," Nooj said as he sat down on the couch and motioned us all to do the same, "What's this problem that we have on our hands?"

"Well, we heard that Baralai is missing," Gippal said as Nooj sighed. He certainly seemed a little too calm and collected about this. "Yeah, that's what I said too."

"Do you know this for a fact, or do you just assume?" Nooj asked as Gippal shrugged.

"All the Al Bhed are talking about it back at Home, so we thought that would get Yuna involved in this." Rikku said sounding the slightest bit defensive. "Not to mention that it's not unlike Yevon to do something rational. Everyone there is trying to get more power than one another."

"Hm. I haven't heard anything from anyone in the Youth League, but Lucil is more in charge of everything than I am lately. I'm more or less taking a break from the Youth League while Leblanc and I get settled in." I saw Rikku cringe at the thought of Leblanc and Nooj having sex again. I had to smile at her.

"Well, taking a break or not, do you want to come with us to see what is going on at Bevelle? We thought that you might want to get involved." Gippal said as he put his hand on Rikku's knee. I knew that Rikku was silently praying not to have Leblanc come with us, because I was thinking the same damn thing. However, when it comes to Nooj, Leblanc isn't ever far behind.

"Yeah, count me in."

"Can Leblanc stay home?" Nooj glared at Rikku as I held in a giggle. I shouldn't say that I can't believe that Rikku spoke her mind like that, because she is a very blunt person. She tells it how it is. "It was just an idea."

"No, Leblanc will come with us." Rikku groaned at Nooj's response.

They continued to talk amongst themselves, and I started to daze off into space. I just wanted to know what the hell was going on with myself. I thought that maybe if I talked to my father and mother I would feel better.

"Hey, I'll be right back," I said as I stood up and left Nooj and Leblanc's house without another word. Everyone watched me leave with perplexed looks on their faces, but didn't get a chance to say anything. Well, it is quite possible that they whispered something among themselves, but I didn't turn back to face them, so I could've been out of earshot.

I walked toward the Farplane, almost in a daze. I felt like I was watching myself walk into the Farplane, just so I could go see a loved one, but it wasn't my mother or father. I didn't know what was going on, but I kept walking. I walked through the entrance and looked at the space around the island I was floating on. Clouds covered the space underneath me, except for the center where waterfalls flowed freely over rocks. Pyreflies danced over the beautiful display of flowers that grew by the waterfalls. The Farplane was quite possibly the most beautiful place in Spira; that is, if you can even say that it's part of Spira. It was more like another world that was connected to Spira. Almost like the Zanarkand that Tidus was originally from. I wish there was an entranceway to Tidus' Zanarkand like there was to the Farplane. I would love to see where Tidus was from.

I was the only person visiting the Farplane at that moment, and I was glad. I knew that in the Farplane, all you need to do is think about the person and they'll show up in front of you. Oddly enough, the first people that I thought of were Shuyin and Lenne. How were they doing? Are they now able to spend eternal bliss together? Pyreflies started to form in front of me and all that appeared was the fayth from Bevelle.

"I'm sorry, Yuna," He said as I squinted my eyes at him. That's funny…I wasn't even thinking about him…


	11. No Questions Answered

**Sorry it's been so long since I've updated on this story!!! I was having an episode of writers block for a while...like...I knew how it was going to end, but I wasn't sure what to do with the middle chapters. (During my writers block I started writing another fic called Zanarkand A-East....check it out if you want to make me happy!! It's quite the funny fic...the full summary is before Chapter One of that story if you're interested) However, I thought of a good transition...This story isn't near done yet, but I think I have the rest of the story planned out. ) R&R please, and I will definitely update more soon!**

11. No Questions Answered

"Hello, Yuna." I jumped perhaps a good foot and a half when the fayth spoke to me again. I wasn't concentrating on him floating in front of me, I was more thinking why Lenne and Shuyin didn't appear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's just that...I thought that the pyreflies only formed visions and memories of people. I didn't think that the visions could actually talk," I trailed off as I thought of the time when I was on my pilgrimage and I came to the Farplane. I went to talk to my parents about how Seymour proposed to me, but they never said a word to me. They just looked at me...

"The visions don't talk to you."

"Ah, okay, this makes perfect sense. I'm hallucinating then. What else would I be doing?" I didn't mean to have a sarcastic tone in my voice, but I was just shocked, so surprised. I didn't know what else to say, so I just stood there, blinking at the fayth. At that moment, the fayth grabbed my arm and pulled me off the floating bit of land that I was standing on. I screamed as I was engulfed in a white light.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

I slowly opened my eyes to see where I was. I observed my surroundings as I sat up; I was surrounded by a beautiful array of flowers in every color of the rainbow. There was a gentle breeze that hit my face and moved my hair. Waterfalls were flowing on one side of me, whereas nothing was on the other side. I'm assuming that if I were to fall down there, I would never hit the bottom. I would just fall down into an abyss. Abyss...that's where I was. I was in the abyss of the Farplane Glen. This was not the first time that I have been here, or the second. I was here the first time that I met Shuyin, (and I thought that he was Tidus...my first thought? "Damn, two years definitely did some great things to him!!!" Although he was a very attractive man when I met him at first as well...but you know what I mean) and when the fayth from Bevelle thanked me for putting Shuyin and Lenne to rest.

"Hello?" I said as I gradually got to my feet, hoping to hear some response. My head was throbbing for some reason, I must've hit it somehow. I walked around a few steps, and pyreflies gathered a few feet away from me. "Oh thank god..." I said under my breath. At least I wasn't alone.

The pyreflies slowly became the form of the fayth. I walked up to him and he simply looked up at me. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask him that I didn't know where to start. After a minute of silence, I finally thought of something to say.

"What's going on?" Okay, it wasn't the most brilliant question that I could've asked, but it was vague enough that it asked a million questions.

"You are in the Farplane Glen," I tried not to roll my eyes at him. Hello, I already knew that.

"Yeah, I've been here before. But what am I doing here?" I asked as patiently as I could.

"Don't you want some answers?" I nodded my head at him and he nodded back. "This was the only place that I could speak to you without anyone else eavesdropping. I'm not supposed to be talking to you, knowing I'm just supposed to be pyreflies."

"Oh." Yep, those were the only words that I could squeak out. I was not feeling the brightest at this point in time, but I hate being confused. Once again, silence fell between the fayth and I. "I know this sounds like a stupid question and all, but while I was in the Farplane, I was thinking of Shuyin and Lenne, and they didn't appear. Where are they?"

"We're sorry."

"Sorry about what?" I tried not to whine as I said that. The last couple of times that the fayth from Bevelle apologized for the rest of the fayths and himself, badness ensued.

"Yuna, when they burst into pyreflies, who performed the sending?"

"The sending?" I said as I wrinkled my nose. "Summoners don't exist anymore."

"Sin is dead. The age of the summoner is over. These are the thoughts that many people in Spira have, including you, I see." I nodded because it was true. Summoners weren't needed to go on a pilgrimage any more. Sin was never coming back, so summoners simply weren't needed. Even though I have the title of High Summoner, it doesn't really have any affect. "However, the dead still need guidance. They need to be sent to the Farplane, or else their souls turn into fiends."

"Wait a minute," I said as I started to catch on. "There haven't been any summoners in the past two years. How many people have died in two years? Hundreds? Thousands? Where did their souls go?"

"Exactly my point." I gasped as I put my hand to my chest. "They're angry."

"And Shuyin and Lenne?" I couldn't stand to think of them as fiends. Shuyin was powerful enough as it was as a human, how strong of a fiend would he be? "Are they fiends too?"  
"Go to Bevelle, Yuna. I cannot share more with you now." He burst into pyreflies as I let out a frustrated scream. What the hell was going on? A blinding pain struck my head and I was engulfed in a white light again.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

"Yuna! Yuna, please wake up!" I slowly opened my eyes to see Tidus, Rikku, Gippal, Leblanc, and Nooj kneeling around me. "Oh thank god, you're all right!"

"I...I'm fine," I said as Tidus helped me sit up. I looked at my surroundings and realized that I was still in the Farplane, but I was in Guadosalam. I was no longer on the Farplane Glen, and I was thankful for that. I slowly stood to my feet as everyone just looked at me in astonishment. A thousand thoughts were running through my head at the moment, and I didn't know how to sort them all. I didn't want another adventure like this; I just wanted to settle down with my life. Have a family, live a wonderful life, die of old age. I didn't want to jump into the fray again, but every time I do, it seems like it's for personal reasons. I'm too close with the people of Spira. Maybe everything I did was for my father, for Auron...or maybe it was just for myself.

"What happened?" Rikku said as she gave me a hug. I groaned a little bit in pain, for my entire body hurt. I felt like I was repeated hit by thundaga spells after a shoopuf ran over me. She released me and apologized. "Sorry, Yunie."

"No, it's okay." I sighed as I brushed the dirt off of me. "I don't know what happened."

"All that matters is that you're not hurt," Tidus said as he kissed me on the forehead. "What possessed you to come here anyway?"

"Well, I was originally here to see my father. Ya know, maybe just talking to him would clear my mind and he could help me out." Everyone gave me a look that said, 'and...go on...' so I continued. "However, when I got here, I started to think of Shuyin and Lenne. Ya know, see how they were doing and see how happy they were that they were finally together again."

"Awww, how are they doing?" Rikku said in a cheery voice. Rikku is a sucker for romance, that's for sure.

"Um, I didn't get to see them." I said simply as Tidus and Gippal helped me to my feet. Everyone looked at me in a confused manner, but since I was confused as well, I couldn't explain myself. Instead of trying, I only sighed and said, "We need to go fix up Bevelle. Let's go." Everyone nodded as we all headed toward the Celsius.


	12. I'll Never Have A Normal Life

12. I'll Never Have A Normal Life 

I knew that we weren't going to get to Bevelle tonight due to the inclement weather that Spira was having and also the fact that it was late, so I decided to lie down for a little bit in the cabin. Tidus did the same, and held me tightly in his arms. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck as he slept, and I finally felt calm. However, I wasn't in the mood to sleep. I was in the mood to just lie there and hear the rain hit the windows of the Celsius. I could also hear Barkeep washing dishes and putting them away. It was amazing how past memories of this ship were finally come back to me. I forgot how many nights I would lie here and fall asleep to Brother and Rikku arguing in the hallway. I actually chuckled to myself at the thought of that.

However, as much as I missed having a lot of time on the Celsius, I wouldn't want to go back to that time. I mean, now I have Tidus back with me, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in Spira besides in his arms. I slowly scooted out of his arms and rolled around so I was facing him. I propped my head up on my hand and watched him. The way he slept, he almost looked like a little boy. He moved one arm underneath his pillow and the other he wrapped around the blankets. With my hand, I moved a tendril of hair out of his face. I was amused when a small, slight smile crossed his lips. I then wondered if Lenne used to look at Shuyin like this. I'm imagining that she would've due to the fact that this is what lovers do, right? I leaned down and lightly kissed him on his lips. He softly sighed in his sleep and my smile widened. How did I live without him for two years? I couldn't fathom life without him again. He makes me so happy, so complete. I would never be able to go on without him by my side.

I wasn't sure how long I was looking at him before I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Rikku practically skipping her way over to me.

"Awww, he looks so cute!" She squealed quietly as she sat down next to me. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a camera. "I thought that you would be sleeping too, so I was going to take a picture!"

"You're such a dork," I said with a giggle. I didn't want to wake up Tidus, so Rikku and I got off the bed and moved over to where the couches were on the left side of the cabin. "So, what's up?"

"I wanted to know what you saw in the Farplane. You've been kind of preoccupied about something ever since we left Guadosalam." I didn't have to ask her to know that everyone else put her up to this. Rikku was practically my sister, and she was the only one who could get any kind of information out of me.

"I saw the fayth that used to reside in Bevelle," I said simply. She motioned me to continue, and I told her everything that the fayth said. As I was done talking, I sighed.

"Okay, so there are a few fiends in Bevelle, that's nothing to be worried about, Yunie," she said cheerfully. "But that's not what's bothering you, I know you too well."

"I just want to know what is going to happen with Lenne and Shuyin. I keep having like..." I moved my hands around because I couldn't find the right words to describe it, "flashbacks of their lives."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you remember when I feel in that hole in Djose right? When I was in the Farplane and I saw Shuyin?" Rikku nodded and I continued. "Well, earlier today when you and Gippal walked in on Tidus and I, I had that same memory. The way he touched me, the way he held me in his arms..."

"Oh, wow," Rikku said as she put her hands on her knees.

"The funny thing though, is how he looked at me afterward. It was like, he knew why I freaked out. I know it sounds really messed up, but I can't think of a better way to describe it." I sighed as I looked over at my sleeping love again.

"Do you think it has anything to do with Shuyin and Lenne not being in the Farplane again?" I perked up as she said that. She looked around for an answer to why I sat up like that. "What is it?"

"No, what you just said," I said as I put my hand to my forehead. "Oh!!!"

"What is it, Yunie?!?" Rikku said impatiently as I stood up and started to pace. Pacing helped my thought process lately.

"Remember when we were in Guadosalam on my pilgrimage?" Rikku nodded and I continued. "Well, as we were leaving the Farplane, Lord Jyscal tried escaping. If I wouldn't have sent him then and there, he probably would be roaming the earth, hating the living."

"Oh! I get it!" Rikku said as she stood up. "Wait...no I don't."

"Okay, well, here's the thing." I said as I walked over to her. "I'm thinking that even though Shuyin and Lenne burst into pyreflies and looked like they were going to the Farplane, they might've gone there but escaped because they weren't technically 'sent.'"

"So does that mean that's what has happened to all the people who have died?" Rikku said as I nodded. "Oh, so they went to the Farplane, but they weren't able to stay there? Kind of like a vacation?"

"Sorta, but not the vacation part really," I said at her analogy. She was trying to help though, so I had to give her credit. I walked over to the windows in the cabin and looked at the storm brewing outside. "Damn, it looks like we're in the middle of the Thunder Plains right about now."

"Yeah, funny weather, huh?" Rikku said as I nodded.

"As soon as it stops we need to make our way to Bevelle. I'm really worried about Baralai and Paine," I said as a shiver went through my spine.

"I'm worried about them too, but I don't think they'd have trouble handling a few fiends."

"We're not talking about a couple fiends, Rikku," I said with a sigh. "We're talking about everyone who has died within the last two years."

"Well, how are we going to send them back to the Farplane?" Rikku asked me with a concerned look on her face. "There aren't any summoners now. Basically they all retired when you squished Yu Yevon with your shoe."

"Somehow we have to convince people to become summoners again to perform the sending dance," I trailed off at the memory of performing sending dances. When I danced the first time in Kilika, I cried during it. I knew that I was doing something good for Spira, but I felt awful at the same time. Even though all those people on the dock didn't want to see their family members become fiends, they were never going to see their loved ones again. Sending after sending, it never got easier. Although I still remember how to perform a sending, I'm not so sure I would ever want to do one again. By the way that Rikku looked at me, I know she was silently asking me if I would still do it. I shook her head at her. "No, I don't think I could."

"Was it that hard to do?" She asked quietly as I continued to relive the memory.

"It's not like it was hard to do. I mean, the concentration level and everything was intense, but I just don't think I could do that anymore." Having the title 'High Summoner' would expect me to the first person to jump on the bandwagon to become a summoner again. What would I do? Fly all over Spira to a city where someone dies just so I could perform the sending? Not to mention that I turned my back on Yevon two years ago. How could I teach people to perform an act of Yevon when I was so against it in the first place? I sighed at my internal conflict and I looked over at Tidus.

"Rikku," I heard Brother yell from the bottom portion of the Cabin. "Did you crack her yet?"

"I can hear you, Brother," I said with a chuckle. I heard Tidus softly moan as he was waking up. "And you just woke up Tidus. Good job!"

"Brother, I hate you!" Tidus said jokingly as he threw a pillow from the bed over the balcony in hopes of hitting Brother. He missed by about twenty feet, so Brother only laughed at Tidus.

"You throw like a woman, Tidus!" Brother jeered as Tidus sat up in the bed. Rikku and I could only laugh at the two guys acting like five year olds, antagonizing each other like that. "Anyway...Yuna! We're going to leave Guadosalam now, bad weather or not! Report to the bridge, everyone!"

"All right," I said as he walked off the bridge. Rikku hopped down the ledge from the top of the cabin to the bottom to follow Brother, and Tidus yawned, stretched, and rubbed his head to calm his bed hair. I sighed as I got back to thinking; would becoming a summoner again mean leaving Tidus? I knew that I couldn't date Tidus when I was on my pilgrimage because I didn't want to get too attached to him and then die. I couldn't do that to anyone. Moving all around Spira wouldn't be fair to Tidus. Heh, not to mention, trying to do the summoning dance pregnant? Being a summoner automatically translates to not being able to have a normal life. All I want is a normal life, but now I'm starting to feel that my dream will never come true....


	13. Back To The Underground

**Sorry this is taking me so long to update this story, but I have been on a MAJOR roll with Zanarkand A-East that I have been shirking on this one. (I think I explained this last time I updated this story as well...hee hee) So I hope you enjoy this!**

13. Back to the Underground

We arrived on the High Bridge of Bevelle a couple of hours later, and the rain finally stopped. I hated rain. It always made Spira feel gloomier, and this was the Eternal Calm; Nothing bad was supposed to happen. I shook my head and sighed. Maybe thinking that thought will keep my hopes up. It was times like this where I could feel the Eternal Calm crumbling away from beneath me, and once again I felt like I had to save Spira again. Sometimes I just wanted to stand on the top of Mt. Gagazet and scream, "Why me?!" It didn't seem fair, but then again, life never _is_ fair, is it?

"You okay, Yuna?" Gippal said to me as he noticed me staring off into space. I'm not surprised Tidus didn't ask me the same question; he was still yawning and trying to wake up from his nap. I nodded my head as we all walked off the airship to stand on solid ground.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," I said as I smoothed my hair and my shirt as we started to walk toward Bevelle. We were all quiet as we took in the environment around us.

"Why is everything still?" Although we were all looking around frantically at what was going on around us on the High Bridge, I don't think any of us realized that there wasn't anything going on outside of Bevelle until Nooj said that. We all stopped in our tracks and looked at the entrance. There were the usual couple of guards standing there, but that's it. No priests wandering or nuns trying to keep things calm. It was oddly quiet, and it made me uncomfortable.

"I thought you said that you heard that Bevelle was in a huge state of panic, Rikku," I said to my cousin as she shrugged.

"Guess ya can't believe everything you hear?" She said as looked around.

We continued to walk up the rest of the way to the Bevelle entrance and we weren't stopped as we walked through the door. The guards simply nodded at us in greeting. Maybe it was the fact that I was high summoner that they didn't stop me. Bevelle practically was where I was supposed to be residing, but I just chose not to. I love the little town of Besaid, and I don't think that I could leave it for anything. We walked up to the temple, and Isaaru was standing in the hallway.

"Yuna? Is that you?" He walked up closer to get a better look at me. "Ah, Yuna, it is you! How have you been?"

"I've been great," I said as I put my arm in Tidus'. "How about yourself?"

"To be honest with you Yuna, I haven't been all that great." I gave him a look that said to go on further into detail and he continued, "Well, as I'm sure you know, our Praetor has gone missing. We don't believe he was kidnapped, but he and another girl went into the Via Infinito for some reason. I would be grateful if you would go check things out for us, Yuna."

"Well, hopefully he's all right," Gippal said with a relieved sigh. "It's almost a relief though, because I'm sure he and Paine can handle fiends."

"That's what I said too!" Rikku said as she bounced on her toes. "Well, I say we go shakey shake our way down there and check things out!"

"Yep," I said as I got a smile on my face. I couldn't believe how excited I was to start another adventure. Five minutes ago I was dreading it, but now that it was at my doorstep, I couldn't wait to get up in fiends' face again and kick some ass. Paine once told me that I enjoy destroying fiends, and at that time I denied it. However, when I look back, I realize that she was right.

Isaaru led us to where the Via Infinito was located and we all warped to Cloister 0. It looked exactly the same as it did a short time ago; dreary, cold, and dimly lit. I was aware of the hard battles that were going to be ahead of us, so I made sure that we all were prepared. My guns were loaded, everyone's swords were sharpened, and everyone was pretty pumped.

"Yeesh," Tidus said as he made a face. "I certainly don't want to spend any more time down here than we have to."

"Eeeh, it's not that bad," Rikku said as she tapped Tidus on the shoulder. "The 100 floors go by quickly."

"100 floors?!" Leblanc whined as she grabbed onto Nooj's arm. "Noojie, can't we just wait on the airship?"

"Let her go, Nooj," Gippal said as he rolled his eyes. That sentence received a smack in the chest from Nooj and Gippal groaned. "Ow!"

"No, Leblanc." Nooj started as he kissed her on the cheek. Rikku and I both made a face and had to look away. "We'll be fine."

"But...but!" She started as she looked around. "It's damp down here and it will kill my hair."

"Don't worry, Leblanc," Gippal said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "The fashion police don't like to be down here"

"Besides, if they did reside here at one time, I'm sure the fiends killed them." Leblanc let out a high pitched whimper as Rikku said that. The rest of us just stifled our laughter.

"Well, we're wasting time just standing here," I said as I started to walk on ahead. "Let's go find Baralai and Paine."

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

I forgot how the Via Infinito feels like it's going to go on forever. We were only at Cloister 17, and the reason why I knew that was because Rikku was keeping count. She said that if no one kept count, she was going to go insane. I agreed with her, so she kept a tally as we went from floor to floor. It was good to fight fiends again, it really was. Not to mention that I loved seeing Tidus fight. The way he stood in his fighters stance, the way he moved like an expert, and the way he would look at me after I destroyed a fiend. He hasn't seen me in action in over two years, and I definitely have improved. I didn't have the aeons to rely on anymore; I had to fight physically. I wasn't an amazing gunner like the legendary Irvine Kinneas that I've read so much about, but I could definitely hold my own. Guns were easier to work with than that stupid little staff that I had over my pilgrimage. I'm glad Rikku convinced me to change my look and I held a mental note to thank her later while I was thinking about it.

"This goes on forever!" Leblanc whined as she sat down on the ground.

"Why are you sitting down?" I asked her as she pouted and looked up at me. I was not patient enough for her at the moment. "What is Spira is wrong with you?"

"I'm tired."

"You're tired?" Rikku said with a laugh. "Yeah, no wonder the Gullwings were better sphere hunters! We never got tired!"

"You're such a liar, Rikku," Leblanc said as she started to rub her ankles. "The syndicate could've kicked you ass."

"How many times did you try?" Rikku put her hands on her hips and smiled at Leblanc. Leblanc only harrumphed at Rikku and continued to rub her ankles.

"Fine, we'll rest for a little while," Gippal said as he lied down on the ground. Everyone else sat down until I was the last one standing. I wasn't tired, and I was not in the mood to stop. I strongly considered going on ahead and leaving everyone else behind, but Tidus, who sat against the wall, grabbed my hand and tugged, motioning me to sit down. Sighing, I sat down between his legs and he put his arms around me.

"I can't believe you guys are willing to just sit here when we don't know what is going on with Baralai and Paine," I said as I put my head in my hands.

"Yuna, are you okay?" I looked over at Rikku who was sitting next to Gippal and playing with his hair and I gave her a confused look. "I mean, you've been like go go go go go ever since Guadosalam. Are you sure you're not taking this mission personally?"

That was the first time my cousin has called me Yuna in so long. She only used my real name when she was completely serious, and I could tell that she wanted to know what was going on with me. Take the mission personally? Heh, that was a huge problem with me in the first place; I always get too involved.

"Well, since Lenne and Shuyin are coming into play with Tidus and my personal life, I guess I have a right to take this situation personally," I said as I hugged my knees. Tidus rubbed his hands against my stomach to calm me down a little as a shiver ran through my spine. "It's cold down here."

"You're not shaking because you're cold, Yuna," Tidus said as he held me closer. "You're rather warm actually."

"Yeah...I know." I didn't know what was going on, I was just so confused with everything that was going on.

"Ooooh, look, someone wants to play!" Rikku said as she grabbed her swords and stood up to face the Malboro that was coming our way.

"Duty calls," I said as we all stood up with our weapons out, ready to kick it's ass all the way to the Farplane. Tidus, Rikku and I got into fighting positions and I said, "This'll only take...two rounds!"

"Give me one!" Rikku said with a huge smile on her face. She was right though. With Tidus doing Blitz Ace, her changing into the Lady Luck dressphere and using Four Dice, and me doing trigger happy, it burst into pyreflies and the fight was all over. "Oh yeah!"

"Whoo! That never gets old!" I said as I put my guns in their holsters to give Rikku a celebratory high five.

"Oh please," Leblanc said with a sigh and put her hand on her hip. "Can we give up the girl power bit for a few minutes?"

"I think it's cute," Tidus said as he gave Yuna a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, you would," Leblanc retorted back as Tidus smiled at me.

"I love my girl, what can I say?" he said as he wrapped his arms around me. I couldn't help but glow, and everyone else just smiled and shook their heads at us. I knew no one would say anything because it's not every day that the love of your life returns to you. I'm sure my case was one in a million, but I'm not complaining.

"All right everyone," I said as I looked around the Via Infinito. "Let's keep going. The longer we sit in the same spot, the further away Cloister 100 will be."

Everyone nodded in agreement and we continued to go though the Via Infinito, Cloister by Cloister...with Rikku keeping track of every floor.

**I'll update some more soon. :) Happy reading! **


	14. Cloister 78

**Just a quick note: I know someone mentioned how they didn't like Yuna's attitude...and I'll be honest, IT'S HARD TO WRITE HER LIKE THIS!!! HOWEVER, this is a major part of the story...and why she is acting like this will be unfolded!!!!! In case you didn't notice....her attitude in the first couple of chapters was like the Yuna we all know and love: innocent, naive, sweet...etc. However, then as things started to get weirder....her attitude started to change and is progressively getting worse. THIS IS ON PURPOSE!!!! I completely meant to do this!! Also...if you notice, her attitude is worse at some times...then changes back to the sweet Yuna. THIS IS ON PURPOSE!!! Okay??? hee heee.....Anyway, finally I'm updating on this story. Happy reading and r&r, okay??? Thanks. :o)**

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**14. Cloister 78**

I wasn't sure how much time had passed since we entered the Via Infinito. I felt like since I haven't seen sunlight in so long, my internal clock was off and didn't know what time it was. Was it nighttime? Was it daytime? The dimly lit halls weren't welcoming or friendly in the least bit, so it constantly felt like nighttime. We were quiet most of the way down there, just listening to the sound of our breathing and listening for fiends. Leblanc finally stopped whining at about the fiftieth floor...mainly because Rikku almost decked her and Nooj told her to stop whining. Yikes, they have so much power over each other it's almost scary. As much as I love Tidus, I hope our influences aren't _that_ strong on each other, ya know? I still want us to be ourselves and not turn into one another.

We were at the seventy-eighth Cloister now, and the fiends were getting harder. There were six of us there, so we didn't have any troubles. I heard something further ahead, and it sounded like struggling and fighting.

"Hey, what's that?" I asked as I pointed in that direction. We all ran over there as quickly as we could, and Gippal was the first to notice what it was.

"Dr. P!" Baralai and Paine were fighting a Megatonberry and not having the upper hand at all. At the sound of her name, Paine whipped around toward us, allowing the Megatonberry to stab her with his Chef's Knife.

"Paine!" Baralai yelled in horror as he watched Paine fall on her stomach, barely dodging the knife himself. He was on his knees, panting, and holding on by a thread. They were clearly in deep trouble.

"Come on, everyone!" I said as we all ran over to help. I must admit, Megatonberries were not my favorite fiend in the world, mainly because they were so strong. Little tonberries are actually quite cute, but the Megatonberries are about ten times their size and about fifty times their strength. I have no idea how Paine and Baralai were lucky enough to run into those. We quickly casted Curaga spells to bring Paine and Baralai to better heath, and then we all worked together to destroy it. It wasn't an easy battle, and we all had to be constantly aware of what was going on with not only the Megatonberry, but also with the other people in our party so no one was close to dying. After the Megatonberry fell over and burst into a plethora of pyreflies, we all tried to catch our breath. Rikku and I fell to our knees, panting.

"I hate this place," Nooj said dryly, reminding me of Auron; my father's guardian and also mine who went to the Farplane. Auron once said the same thing about the Via Purifico when I was still on my pilgrimage.

"Wow, it's been a long time since we've had to fight a fiend like that, huh, Yunie?" Rikku said as I nodded to her.

"Oh, you two amaze me," Paine said sarcastically as she stood up, even though she was panting as well. "Don't you remember the huge machina Vegnagun that we destroyed a couple of days ago? Or a pain-stricken maniac with a 'oh woe is me' attitude who tried to vaporize Spira? What do you call them?"

"Kay, I guess you're right," I said as Tidus helped me to my feet. He had a couple beads of sweat on his forehead and he wiped them off with the hood on his shirt. He looked quite worn out...and when I looked around, I realized that we all looked beyond exhausted.

"What are you doing down here anyway?" Paine asked as she wiped the dust and dirt off of her leather outfit.

"We came to check on you," I said simply as she and Baralai gave me a blank stare. "Well, we um, heard that you went to check things out, so we thought that maybe you could give you an extra hand."

"Or twelve," Baralai said with a chuckle as he looked at everyone else that was behind me. Yeah, okay, there were a lot of us so we all had to laugh as well.

"Did you find anything interesting down here?" Nooj said as he walked over to Baralai, who shook his head.

"Nothing more than your average day fiends," Paine said as she shrugged her shoulders. She slightly shivered as she looked around at her surroundings. "However, I don't like it down here. It's giving me the creeps."

"Nevertheless, it would be a good spot to start training New Yevon recruits," Baralai said with a smile. Once a praetor, always a praetor I guess. He was able to put an optimists' perspective on the Via Infinito, so we all smiled. "I guess we're not finding anything down here, so we might as well go back up to the surface, regroup, and make our next move from there."

"Oh good!" Leblanc said with a happy shriek. Rikku shot her a look and rolled her eyes. "What? I happen to like the sunlight. Maybe you should look into that instead of using that self tanner you use."

"I don't use self tanner!!" Rikku said as she got up in Leblanc's face. "At least I'm a natural blonde!"

"Hey!" Leblanc said as she gave Rikku a look that could've sent her right to the Farplane. "I _am_ a na—"

"Shut up!" Gippal and Paine said at the same time. I'm glad they said something before I had to. I had no idea what had gotten into Rikku when it came to Leblanc lately. Usually Rikku was the one with a lot of patience, but you could definitely tell that she was about ready to pummel Leblanc...and I must admit it was rather amusing.

"We're not going to go all the way down there?" Tidus asked as we all shrugged. "I mean, we're this far, we might as well see what else is down here."

"Maybe nothing, but Yevon does like to keep its dirty little secrets," Rikku said as she raised an eyebrow at Baralai. She was joking, but Baralai looked slightly lost.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Rikku," he said as he blinked a couple of times. "There isn't anything down here, I'm pretty sure of it."

"Then why in Spira did we go down here in the first place?" Paine asked as she glared at Baralai. "I thought that you said you wanted to check things out?"

"I did want to check things out, and we did." Paine had to groan at Baralai and crossed her arms. If there was one thing about Paine, it was that each one of her looks could say a thousand words. However, in this instance, her look meant only five: 'we're here, let's keep going.' Thankfully, Baralai understood it. "All right, all right. Let's just get to the bottom of this place and see if anything is down there so then we can leave."

"I've been noticing an increase in pyrefly activity," Nooj said as we all realized he was right. Every floor we went down we saw more and more pyreflies, and it wasn't from fiends that we destroyed. I felt like they were all following me and I had to swat them away so they wouldn't buzz in my ear. I don't think anyone else noticed that they were surrounding me and slowly seeping into my skin.

"Do you think something really _is_ down there, then?" Rikku asked as she started to bounce on her toes.

"I guess we won't know until we get there," I said as I tossed my hair out of my face and started to walk to the end of the cloister. My forwardness stunned everyone (including myself) for a second, then Tidus ran up to me. It took everyone else a minute and then they followed as well.

"What's up?" Tidus said quietly to me as he slipped his arm around my waist. "I'm worried about you."

"Don't be," I said as I could hear everyone whispering behind me. A cold look entered my eyes as I sharply exhaled. "They better not be talking about me."

"What is wrong with you, Yuna?" he asked me as he grabbed my shoulders to stop me in my tracks. I was slightly embarrassed because everyone could see us...and could see the tear that fell from my eye. Everyone started to circle around me, but Tidus moved his head to motion everyone to continue. "Go on to the next floor. We'll meet you there."

Everyone nodded and hopped down the platforms to reach the next floor. I looked up at Tidus and my lip was quivering. He didn't say a word as he wrapped his arms around me, and he didn't need to say anything. Being in his arms was all I needed right now. I started to feel like I was losing it again. Like something was taking over me...

"Come on, talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind." His voice was soothing and I just let the tears flow. "You're not talking." 

"I know," I said with a sniff and I cleared my throat. "I don't want to be here."

"I'm watching after you," he said sweetly as his hand trailed my back.

"That's not what I mean," I said as I looked up at him. "I've beaten up some of the worst things that Spira could spit out, and I want it to just be done, over. I want to be married, I want to settle down. I don't want to be the one that everyone always counts on. I feel so used all the time."

"It's because people know they can depend on you." He said gently as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"I don't want to be dependable anymore. I want to be able to have my own life and not have to fight in this war anymore."

"Life is a war, and all we can do is fight the big fight, you know?" He continued to brush my back with his hand.

"I don't want to die, I'm too young to die." Tears streamed down my face as I fell into his arms again. "I just want to be able to be with you, I'm sick of being a summoner."

"You're...not a summoner anymore." Tidus grabbed me by the shoulders and looked into my weeping eyes. He was clearly confused, and I didn't know how to explain what I was feeling.

"Bevelle is going to win this war anyway. We both know that Zanarkand isn't going to have a chance. By putting summoners on the front lines they're basically executing me. At first I thought that I wouldn't mind dying for my people, but now I realize that I can't. I need to be with you. Don't let them kill me..."

"What in the hell are you talking about? What war? There aren't any wars going on right now! Also, summoners aren't needed anymore. You know all of this! What is going on with you?!"

"Let's run away. We don't need to be here. This war is pointless and I don't want to be a part of it anymore! I can't die, I just want to stay with you."

"I'm right here, I'm never going to leave you! What in the world are you talking about, Yuna?"

"Who's Yuna?" And with that, everything went black.

**Hopefully it won't take me as long to update next time....but I'm (hopefully!!!) on a roll now....I already have the next chapter halfway written....but I want it to be perfect. :o) The faster you r&r...the more modivated I will be to finish. Hee hee....aren't I a pain??? All right...happy reading!!**


	15. Just A Dream?

**Oh yay! I am SOOOO excited how these next two chapters turned out!!!! EEEEE!!!!! (okay I won't scream like that in public again...lol) Okay, I had to write these two together because they kinda meld into each other. There's quite a bit of fluff in the next couple of chapters....which is good because there hasn't been a lot in this story so far. I didn't think I would be done with these chapters so quickly (I needed to write them together....I should've written the last one with these two as well...You'll understand as you read) but ideas just kept flowing!! :o) I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!! There are a couple notes that I have to add at the end of the next chapter....but I think you'll all figure out what....Ooooh....can't say! Okay, just read, all right??!?! Enjoy!!**

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**15. Just A Dream? **

"_I want to be married, I want to settle down. I don't want to be the one that everyone always counts on. I feel so used all the time." _

"_It's because people know they can depend on you." _

"_I don't want to be dependable anymore. I want to be able to have my own life and not have to fight in this war anymore. I don't want to die, I'm too young to die. I just want to be able to be with you, I'm sick of being a summoner...Don't let them kill me..."_

"_Look at me...I won't let you die." _

"_Let's run away."_

"_Where will we go?"_

"_We don't need to be here. This war is pointless and I don't want to be a part of it anymore! I can't die, I just want to stay with you."_

"_I'm sure there's another way. I promise you that I will find it..."_

I slowly blinked my eyes to open them. I had to let myself become accustomed to the bright sunshine that streamed in through the blinds that were located on one wall. I had to let out a sigh of relief. It was only a dream. There weren't any faces in that dream...only voices. The voices faded in and faded out, and it was not the first time I've had that dream. The voices I heard...They sounded so familiar...

I was lying down, covered only by a thin white sheet. I looked at the blank white walls that were around me and as I looked to my left, I saw Tidus. He was sitting in a chair next to me and had one of his feet propped up on the bed I was lying in, with his forehead on his knee. He had intertwined my fingers with his and I had to smile at him.

"Hi," I said quietly as he jumped about a foot.

"Oh, you're awake!!" He leaned over and kissed my face at least a dozen times. "Thank god, you're okay. I was so worried about you!"

I had to giggle at him and he helped me sit up. I slightly groaned from a pain in my wrist so I looked down at it. It had bandages all over it, and an IV hooked into the top of my hand as well. I was thoroughly confused at where I was...and why I was where I was. "What...what happened to me?"

"You fainted in the Via Infinito, don't you remember?" I looked at him blankly and he sighed, yet smiled. "Yeah, I figured you wouldn't have remembered."

"I remember being in the Via Infinto and finding Paine and Baralai, but then everything becomes fuzzy in my mind." I tried to remember, but I couldn't. Tidus moved the chair he was sitting in so he was closer to me. He gripped my hand tighter and ran his fingers through my hair with his other hand. "Where am I?"

"You're in the New Yevon Hospital in Bevelle," he said as he kissed my hand. "As soon as you fainted, I called out to the others and we left the Via Infinito to bring you here. You've been in here for a few days, you know."

"It's funny," I said slowly as I started to remember my dreams. "I kept dreaming of Lenne and Shuyin..."

"I'm really not surprised, you know," he said as he wrinkled his forehead. "Before you fainted in the Via Infinito, you were talking as if you were Lenne talking to Shuyin. You kept talking about how summoners were being sent to the front lines of a war, and if I recall, that's what happened with Lenne, right?"

"Oh my god..." I said as I looked at him in the eye. "The Machina War between Zanarkand and Bevelle. I remember Maechen telling Paine, Rikku, Brother, Buddy and I about how Shuyin didn't want Lenne to die, so that's why he tried to activate Vegnagun."

"You were telling me how you wanted to run away from everything because you were sick and tired of being the dependable one that everyone always calls on."

"Well, that's not too far from reality, you know," I said with a smile. "Tidus, now that you're back, the only thing I want to do is start a family. You're the only person I can imagine spending my life with, and I want to start that part of my life now."

We smiled at each other and he bent over and passionately kissed me on the lips. "Yuna, I love you more than anything in this world. I think that's why the fayth brought me back to life...and made me real this time. I'm no longer a dream. I'm really here. Like I told you, I'll cherish you as long as I live."

"I love you too," I couldn't help the tears of happiness that started to well up in my eyes as he said those words. I didn't know what else to say, so I gently put my hand on the back of his neck and brought him into a kiss. It was very difficult to kiss him while he was in a chair and I was in my hospital bed. I'm sure he would've sat down on the bed with me if he didn't think he was going to get in trouble by the New Yevon doctors. "Never leave me, Tidus."

"Yuna, I have been sitting here since we brought you to this hospital. The others are out in the waiting room and have been in and out on occasion, but the nurses have been pretty strict with only having one person in here with you at a time. Thankfully, everyone else has been really understanding about it and have let me stay here with you." He let go of my hand, walked over to the counter, poured me a glass of water from the pitcher that was placed there and walked back over to me. He handed me the glass, and the cool liquid felt wonderful and refreshing as it passed my parched lips. I thanked him as he flashed me a loving grin. "I promise you that I'll never leave you and I'll always look after you, Yuna."

"What did I do without you for two years?" I asked him as he only ran his fingers through his blonde locks. There was silence between us for a moment and I silently sipped from the glass that was in my hands. He sat back down and grabbed one of my hands again. "So, um, did they find out what was wrong with me?"

"No, they tried doing some tests, but they figured that they would need you awake to do the rest of them." With that, he reached over and pushed the button to call the nurse into the room. "I should've done this about five minutes ago, sorry."

"Don't apologize to me," I said as I gently squeezed his hand with my own. "Besides, having a little alone time with you is all I ever could want."

"Yeah, but Yuna, you're sick and I want you better," he flashed me a seductive smile and leaned in closer to me. He then whispered, "that way I can have alone time with you where we know we won't have any interruptions."

I couldn't help but giggle at his suggestion and I would've said something back, but the nurse walked in and unfortunately asked Tidus to leave. He mouthed the words, "we'll finish this conversation later" with a wink, kissed me on the cheek and then left the room.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

Having the High Summoner in the hospital definitely caused quite a fuss. Not only were there constantly three doctors or nurses doing tests at all time, but there were a lot of reporters trying to find out information to spread to the rest of Spira. I started to feel claustrophobic. Rikku once told me, "You're famous, Yunie. Better get used to it." But I don't care, I don't think I ever will get used to it. I then told her, "All I want's some peace and quiet." And to that I still hold.

After about six hours of tests, I was finally allowed to have more than one visitor in the room at a time. The nurses took about ten blood samples, a urine sample, three head examinations, a couple perception tests, reflex tests, and the list goes on and on. I felt like they were draining the life out of me by taking all that blood. Of course I'm not a fan of needles, so it freaked me out even more. It's funny though, I can take a real beating from a fiend, but you stick a needle in me and I start to shake like a three week year old puppy who just saw a shoopuf for the first time.

After all that, the doctors and nurses told me that I could have more than one person in the room, and I was thankful to be around my closest friends. They all bought me some sort of gift; Rikku and Gippal bought me chocolate (leave it to Rikku to buy me food of some kind. I was shocked when the box was actually still sealed and she didn't sneak one. That girl is a sucker for eating!), Leblanc and Nooj bought me about a dozen balloons, and Baralai and Paine bought me a 'Get Well Soon!" cake. (Yay! More sugar!!!) and my Tidus bought me a dozen moonlillies (and said that we would need to make a trip to the Moonflow at night so we could see it light by pyreflies. How romantic!) and a medium sized stuffed moogle doll. I squealed when he handed it to me and I fell in love with it instantly. I have always loved moogles. As a matter of fact, when Lulu first started to cast spells by using her dolls, I once took her moogle one and kept it for several weeks before she found out about it. I was sad to give it back to her, but it was better than getting into an argument with Lulu.

I was positively gleaming to be around all of them at the same time, and I felt mostly fine. My wrist and head still hurt slightly from the impact of me hitting the ground when I passed out, and some of the pricks from the needles still hurt, but otherwise I was perfectly normal. The doctors told me that I needed to spend at least one more night in the hospital so they could figure out what was wrong with me, but as soon as they told me (and as long as nothing was seriously wrong with me) I could go home. Key word there being 'home.' They told me that I would have to 'take it easy' for a few weeks. As much as I did want to go home, I wanted to know what was up with all the wandering unsents floating somewhere around Spira.

I brought these concerns up with Tidus and he said that maybe for once someone else could be in charge and investigate. Rikku, Gippal, Paine, Baralai, Nooj, and Leblanc said they would take over until I was better. Well, they were all willing except for Leblanc. Nooj volunteered her and she whined about it for a minute, but I think she got over it.

After spending only about a half hour with my friends, the doctor came in announcing that visiting hours were over and I needed to have my rest. Unfortunately, they wouldn't even let Tidus stay because I now was awake, so I was quite upset. I hugged them all goodbye, thanked them for the gifts, and gave Tidus a passionate kiss (with everyone making mock kissy noises during it...What would I do without my friends?) and watched them all leave.

I wasn't exactly tired due to the fact that I spent three days being unconscious, (the doctors informed me of that when I asked during my tests) so I simply watched the nurse turn off the light and waved to her. It was amazing how empty a room could feel, you know? I looked around the room to find something entertaining to stare at, but white walls were only engaging for so long. I decided to give up, snuggle with my new moogle doll, and try to sleep.


	16. Crossing the Line Between Dream and Real...

**16. Crossing the Line Between Dream and Reality**

_Shuyin tapped his pencil against the pad of staff paper that he held on his lap to continue the piece he was writing. He knew the notes that he was hearing in his head, but that wasn't the only thing he had on his mind. He shook his non music thoughts out of his head as he scribbled a few notes down. He placed the book on the stand of his piano and put the pencil in his mouth. _

_He expertly placed his hands on the piano and played what he had composed so far. His new piece was haunting and mystical, but he couldn't get it out of his head. It ran through his mind at all times of the day lately, so he figured that he would actually write it down before his cranium exploded. In the middle of what he had down so far, he heard a knock on his door. _

_"It's open!" He heard the door open and footsteps approach. In the middle of a descending line of the piece, he looked up to see Lenne standing in the doorway. A miserable look was on her beautiful face, one that Shuyin rarely saw, so instead of finishing what he had written, he took his hands off the piano. _

_"Hey," she said softly as she walked over to where Shuyin was sitting._

_"Hi," he said as he took the pencil out of his mouth. She stood next to the piano and rested her elbows on it. _

_"I like your piece that you're writing," she said as she looked at the messy notes that were scribbled down. "It's very dramatic and exciting."_

_"It's funny," he said as he stood up and wrapped Lenne in his arms. "I feel like that song is important or something. I keep hearing it in my head." He shrugged as she looked up at him. "Eh, maybe it's just the curse of being a composer."_

_"Yeah, maybe." She was very quiet and that worried Shuyin. _

_"Are you okay?" he looked at her in the eyes and tears started to form. "Oh, Lenne, what's wrong?"_

_"I, um, got a letter from the Grand Maester of Zanarkand today." She reached into her purse and handed Shuyin a small white envelope. It had a wax stamp with the Zanarkand symbol on it, proving that it was authentic. He gave a concerned look as he opened the envelope, unfolded the letter that was written on heavy parchment paper, and read it aloud._

_"'Attention All Summoners; As you know, Bevelle and Zanarkand are battling in a war and reinforcements are needed. As a summoner who has excellent battle skills and strength, you are expected to report to the battle field to fight along side of the Zanarkand soldiers on the...front...lines...'" Shuyin trailed off, not wanting to read any more. He numbly handed the letter back to her and she placed it back in her purse. "Lenne..."_

_"Heh, I guess there goes my singing career," she said as she tried to smile. Shuyin didn't find any humor in it whatsoever, so he kept a grim look on his face as Lenne placed her purse on the piano. She tried to remain strong, but her façade was starting to fade and her fear was showing. She moved her hair out of her face with a shaky hand. "I'm, um, supposed to leave as soon as possible."_

_Without another word, she broke down and tears started to run down her face. She put her hands to her face to try and shield her face from him. She hated crying, especially in front of Shuyin. He was the one thing in this world that made her happy and to cry in front of him broke her heart as much as she knew it broke his. He wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her back, hopefully comforting her somewhat. He took one of his hands off of her back and cupped her chin. He looked into her eyes with a loving smile and gently kissed her wet cheeks. He could taste the salt from her tears, and he was overcome with misery. His only love, sent to the front lines of the Machina War. _

"_I want to be married, I want to settle down. I don't want to be the one that everyone always counts on. I feel so used all the time." Her voice sounded as if she were lost. Much like a young girl who was in the middle of Macalania Forest alone. _

"_It's because people know they can depend on you." He was well aware that she would not return alive, but also was aware that Lenne knew she was going to lay her life down when she chose to become a summoner. He just tried to keep her hopes up that she would return home okay, but it wasn't possible to even think that way. Bevelle had such an upperhand in this war that it was quickly tightening the noose around Zanarkand. _

"_I don't want to be dependable anymore. I want to be able to have my own life and not have to fight in this war anymore. I don't want to die, I'm too young to die." It pained him to see the distraught look in her teary eyes. "I just want to be able to be with you, I'm sick of being a summoner." She then added in an almost inaudible whisper, "Don't let them kill me."_

"_Lenne, look at me," he said as he gently moved her face with his hand that was still cupping her cheek. She blinked a couple of times and with a quivering lip, she obeyed. He looked into her eyes and with a reassuring tone of voice said, "I won't let you die." _

"_Let's run away." She said quickly as Shuyin exhaled. _

"_Where will we go? There's nowhere to go where someone won't recognize you. You're the most famous songstress in all of Spira, so going anywhere unnoticed would be impossible." Lenne's heart fell at her lover's response to eloping, but she also knew he had a point. "As much as I would love to just run away from all this, I don't think that it's possible. The second that they found out that you were in a different part of Spira, or if Bevelle soldiers found us, they would kill us instantly for being traitors."_

"_We don't need to be here. This war is pointless and I don't want to be a part of it anymore! I can't die, I just want to stay with you." She was crying so hard that she was border lining convulsions. A mixture of feelings arose in Shuyin; sadness, fear, and most of all, anger. Anger at Bevelle, anger at Zanarkand, anger at pretty much everyone who wanted Lenne to be shipped off to battle._

"_Lenne, as much as I would love to just run away from our problems, I'm sure there's another way. I promise you that I will find it." Lenne looked up at him to see tears of anger and sadness welling up. The look of determination on his face proved to her that he meant every word he said. _

"_Shuyin..." She brushed his cheek with her fingers as a rush of emotions washed over Shuyin. He pressed his lips gently against Lenne's and she succumbed to his kiss. He put one hand around her waist and the other hand he placed on her neck, bringing her body closer to him. She ran her fingers through his blonde hair as he parted her mouth so he could enter his tongue. _

_At first the kisses came slowly, softly and sweetly...but then the kisses became more passionate and more aggressive. He picked her up in his arms and, while he continued to kiss her, brought her into his bedroom. He placed her tenderly on his bed as he kicked off his shoes and joined her on the bed. She tossed off her shoes as he wrapped his arms around her and started to kiss her neck. She unbuttoned his shirt and carelessly tossed it aside and ran her hands against the smooth skin on his back. He took that idea and ran with it as he took off her shirt and to his delight, she wasn't wearing a bra. He lowered his kiss to her breasts, then lower to her stomach. His hands moved to her breasts as he unbuttoned her skirt with his teeth. He threw the skirt off to the side to reveal her lacy black underwear. She slightly moaned as he kissed around her pantyline and trailed his fingers on the outside of her long legs. He decided to leave her lower region alone for a few minutes and went back to kissing her lips again. The feeling of his skin against her bare chest was amazing and she felt as if she never wanted to move. His shorts on her legs were aggravating her slightly, so she took the liberty of taking them off for him. _

_Their pulses were now racing at the speed of light and they were slightly panting. Lightly dampened with sweat, Shuyin gently slid off Lenne's panties and took off his own boxers so he was now naked on top of her. Their hands roamed and explored each others bodies as they started to continuously moan. _

_Shuyin got into the right position to enter her and being as gentle as he could, he did. Her moans of appreciation and pleasure were enough to keep Shuyin going. She wrapped her legs around his waist as they moved as one. They were now both drenched in sweat and Lenne had to struggle to keep her legs around him as he thrusted into her. The pleasure was intensifying and their moans were increasingly getting louder. Shuyin could feel Lenne tightening around him and he knew that she was close to her climax as well as she was. After only a minute more of grinding, Lenne could feel four or five warm shots of juices into her and she and Shuyin both loudly moaned as they orgasmed. _

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

My eyes opened widely in my hospital bed as I sat up straight with a gasp. I was heavily panting and drenched in sweat. I put my hand over my heart, but realized that there wasn't any clothing between my hand and my skin. I moved the paper thin blanket that was covering me to reveal the fact that I wasn't wearing any clothes at all. I quickly wrapped the blanket around me, embarrassed that I had an incredibly REAL sex dream. I felt that I could feel his breath on my neck, feel his kisses all over my body, and the creepiest thing out of all? I could feel him inside of me. I shook my head at myself because it was just a dream...right? I looked at my clothes that were strewn across the hospital room floor and I was thoroughly confused.

It's not that I've never had a sex dream before, it's just that I've never had one that extravagant. I never woke up naked the next morning! There was a tingeing pain in my hand, and I realized that during my hardcore sex dream I ripped out my IV. I figured I wasn't dead yet, so I would be okay without it. I went to lie back down and now that my eyes were adjusted to the dark room, I realized that something was on the blanket that covered me. It was a dark wet spot, so I quickly flipped on the lamp that was next to my bed and focused the light on it. I gasped at the horrifying sight.

Blood. MY blood. I moved the sheet off of me and realized that my entire lower body region was covered in it, along with the sheets and the mattress. It wasn't from my period, I had another good two weeks before I had to start. It seriously looked like I killed someone. I was thankful that my new moogle was thrown on the floor in the mix of my clothing and blood didn't stain that too.

I didn't know what else to do, so I pushed the button to page a nurse.

**Just a note....the piece that Shuyin was composing in the beginning of the dream sequence is OBVIOUSLY Nightmare in the Den. (The piece in FFX-2 where Shuyin plays the piano type thing in Vegnagun that gets it moving....you know what I'm talking about!) Also, sorry for getting a little graphic with the sex scene...but I think it was still tasteful. Another thing...Yuna didn't notice the blood on the blanket when she checked to see if she was wearing clothes because her eyes weren't adjusted to the lighting in the room yet, okay? Also, she didn't move the blanket to see her lower region...she only saw that she wasn't wearing a shirt and she _assumed_ that she wasn't wearing any more clothes. Seeing her clothes on the floor confirmed that she was naked. All right....hopefully I'll update soon!!!**


	17. Now I Wish This Was Just A Dream

**OH YAY! I am getting so insanely excited for this story, you have NO idea! Mainly because I broke my case of writer's block, so that always will make an author happy!!! I will hopefully update Zanarkand A-East soon too...although I started to write a chapter in it today in Psych (yeah, that's how I spend my quality time in psych!), I realized that I need another chapter between the one I wrote today and the one that I last posted. Sigh...Oh well. ANYWAYS, here's this chapter...and it's getting so exciting. :) YAY! Read and Review please!!! :o)**

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**17. Now I Wish This Was Just A Dream**

Unfortunately, the nurse didn't know what was wrong with me and she said that they would do tests in the morning. She was more concerned about how I ripped my IV out of my hand than the blood, and to me that didn't make a lot of sense. Oh well, she told me that they would just have to stick another one in me when I moved rooms. I sighed because I didn't like needles, but they stuck me so many times yesterday that I guess it wasn't _that_ big of a deal. Not to mention that the sigh was partially from having to move rooms at four in the morning. Thankfully the nurse let me take a shower before I moved because I felt absolutely violated. Not to mention the fact that I was in a lot of pain. Not from my head and wrist injuries (or ripping out my IV), but I felt like something was jabbed up me and moved around my insides. It felt as if I really _did_ have sex with someone that night. I've heard that the first time you have sex you bleed a lot and you're in a lot of pain the next day, and since I am a virgin...I guess I can't say if that theory is true or not.

But that's ridiculous, isn't it? How could I have sex with a dream? Besides Tidus that is, but he is actually human. I literally had a _dream_ about Lenne and Shuyin and woke up surrounded in blood. It was just the freakiest thing and I hope I never had to go through it again.

When I moved into a new room, I held my moogle tightly at my chest and watched them make my bed for me. They had to rejab an IV into my hand and I was thankful when that was over.

"You're all set, Lady Yuna," the nurse said as she was done. I thanked her and she turned off the light and shut the door. I was exhausted when I lied down and I fell right to sleep.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

The next morning, I woke up without having any more dreams. I exhaled a sigh of relief and clutched the moogle doll tightly. I felt like I was seven years old again; holding a stuffed animal like that. But I looked at it as more of a way to feel closer with Tidus since he wasn't there with me at that moment.

"Good morning, beautiful." I looked over at the doorway and my Tidus was standing there. He had a huge grin on his face and another bouquet of flowers in a vase.

"You spoil me, Tidus," I said as he handed me the flowers and gave me a kiss. "Thank you. They're gorgeous."

"Well, I thought about you all night," he said as he put the vase on my dresser.

"You did? Aww, you're so sweet." When he turned to me, he dropped the smile he was wearing. He looked quite troubled and perplexed. "What is it?"

"Okay, I woke up at about four in the morning after having an insanely weird dream, so then I got to thinking," I cut him off before he could finish.

"What was your dream about?" I asked him as he moved a chair over to my hospital bed. "Because I had a dream too and not like this would ever happen, but it would be freaky if we dreamed the same thing."

"The dream was insanely real. I felt like I was there and everything," he said as I motioned him to go on with the story. "But this is what I really wanted to talk to you about. Before you passed out in the Via Infinito, you were talking as if you were Lenne basically. I know I told you this yesterday."

"Yeah, you did." He exhaled and cracked his fingers. "Go on."

"Well, here's the funny thing. Everything that you said to me..." he trailed off and swallowed before finishing. "Lenne said to Shuyin in my dream last night and I'm talking word for word."

"You had a dream with Lenne and Shuyin in it as well?" I asked him as he nodded. "Okay, I'm not liking this feeling I'm getting right now."

"I've dreamt about Lenne before, I basically have since I was a kid like I told you when I first came back." He moved the chair closer to me and grabbed my hand. "But the thing is, once you explained to me the connection between Shuyin and myself, I just thought that it was because I was based off of him. I figured that the fayth used his thoughts and feelings to make me in the dream Zanarkand, so it would make sense that I would have flashbacks of his life and whatnot."

"But...?" I asked, sensing that he wasn't finished yet. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"But now I feel as if maybe there's something more than that."

"Why's that?" I asked him as he only chuckled. "Come on, tell me."

"The dream was too real," he said quietly as he slightly blushed. "In my dream, Lenne and Shuyin had this passionate love making session, and when I woke up, I was drenched in sweat and I was naked."

"I woke up surrounded in my own blood if that makes you feel better." Tidus pinched his lips together and gripped my hand harder.

"I woke up with wet sheets too," he said as he blushed a deeper shade of red. "I haven't done that since I was like thirteen. And, um, apparently I was moaning pretty loudly because Rikku said she heard me from her hotel room last night, and um...her hotel room was across the hallway from mine."

"What is going on here?" I asked him as I became really nervous. "The fact that we had the same dream at the same time freaks me out. Something is going on somewhere...somewhere that is not here. It's not like I could investigate it anyway because of how I was lying in a hospital bed. It's not normal to dream the same exact thing."

"Not only that, but it was also how everything you said to me in the Via Infinito was repeated by Lenne to Shuyin," he sighed and looked down at our hands. "I made everyone else stay at the hotel until later today because I wanted to discuss this with you first without an audience."

"I need to get out of here," I said as I threw the sheet off of me. Tidus grabbed me by the shoulders to stop me but I looked at him in the eye and said, "I need to find out what is going on here."

"Not until we find out what is going on with you," he said as he lied me back down. "They wanted to do more tests, so let them do the tests, okay?"

"But we know that this is an influence of Lenne and Shuyin, so I'm physically fine," I protested as he still kept his firm look on me. "All right, one more day of tests then I am getting the hell out of here."

"As long as you're all right, that's fine with me," he said with a gentle kiss on the cheek. He knew that I was not one to be cooped up like I was, and I was getting cabin fever. "When are they doing more tests anyway?"

"Oh, the nurse said probably at around tenish or something like that," I said as I looked at the clock. It was already five after ten, so I was waiting for an interruption at any time.

"I'm assuming that it won't take them much longer after your tests are done." I knew that he wasn't sure of that statement, but I had to give him credit for trying to keep me optimistic. "You'll be out of here soon."

"Yeah, I hope so," I said as the nurse walked into the room. Again she asked Tidus to leave, and with a kiss on the cheek he did.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

The next testing session was a slightly more embarrassing one. They did all kinds of 'woman tests' to see what caused the bleeding, and I'm pretty sure that the entire time I was the same color as my blood was. They also asked me a lot of questions that involved my sexual past. Well, I'm a virgin, I've never done anything sexually, so them asking me all these questions were making me so uncomfortable. I almost felt as if they were unnecessary, but I figured at least they knew that I didn't sleep around, ya know? That's all I would need is to have the media spread around that I'm not as innocent as I look and the High Summoner is big dumb whore. I had to do more blood tests and more urine tests because they didn't find anything wrong with the previous ones. I have no idea why they wanted more blood if they didn't find anything wrong with it. I figured they knew what they were doing, so I sucked it up and did what they wanted me to do.

After the testing, I was able to go to my room, and I still was blushing. Luckily, Rikku, Gippal, Paine, Baralai, Leblanc, Nooj and Tidus were all there to keep me sane and they talked for me for while.

"Yep, I wanna go home," I said as I slightly pouted.

"Aww, love, don't worry about it!" Leblanc said cheerfully as she hung all over Nooj, making Rikku cringe again. "Just think, you actually get an excuse to rest and do nothing!"

"Yeah, but you know me, I get restless easily." Everyone stifled a chuckle and had to laugh too. "Go on, I said it. That means you can laugh."

"It's amazing though," Gippal said as he rested his hand on Rikku's waist. "You still look insanely tired for just lying around all day."

"I didn't sleep too well last night," I said simply as Tidus and I exchanged glances.

"What's with the look?" Rikku asked as she looked between Tidus and I. "It's not like you guys did anything, although I did hear some interesting—"

"Okay, share time is over, Rikku," Tidus said as he covered her mouth with his hand and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, anyway. Maybe we should let her rest, guys."

Everyone nodded and left Tidus and I alone again.

"I am really tired," I said as Tidus kissed me on the lips.

"As am I, my love," he said as he threw himself down on the chair. "As am I."

"Sweet dreams." I flashed him a smile as he gave me a remote look of horror. "Or don't dream at all, that's even better yet."

"That's my choice, thank you." I had to chuckle at him as I snuggled with my moogle and fell asleep.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

_Shuyin was still working on his new piece that he was composing when he heard a knock at his door. He stopped and looked at the clock that was on his wall. _

"_Yeah?" He called out as he stood up and stretched. He didn't realize that he had been playing for about three hours straight. He just couldn't get that haunting tune out of his mind. It just played over and over as if it was a broken sphere in his mind. The door slowly opened, and Lenne walked in. "Hey, beautiful."_

"_Hi," She said quietly as he walked over to her and greeted her with a romantic kiss. Once again she was quiet, and almost distant. He knew that she was going to have to leave for the war in just a few days, so he figured that was the problem. He tried his best to keep the mood light and keep her happy, but it had been a rough process for the both of them._

"_How are you?" He asked cheerfully as he brought her into a loving embrace. "I missed you."_

"_Shuyin," she said as she softly laughed. "You saw me last night. And to answer your first question? I've seen much better days."_

"_I know," he said delicately as he ran his fingers through her beautiful hair. _

"_No, Shuyin," she said as she broke out of his embrace and started to pace back and forth. "The war isn't what is wrong this time."_

"_Then what is it?" Shuyin was stunned by how she didn't want to be held right now. Usually when she was having troubles with something, she would go to Shuyin's arms. That is, if she wasn't too proud of a person to hold in her emotions. She turned her back to him as she tapped her fingers together. _

"_I'm late, Shuyin." She said simply as Shuyin gave her a blank look. "Very late."_

"_What do you mean..." he asked her, very afraid of the answer. _

"_I'm pregnant." _

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

I gasped as I shot straight up in my bed...and I realized that Tidus did the same thing.

"Tidus..." I said with wide eyes.

"Oh shit..."

**Sorry for the cliffhanger!!! (Kind of a cliffhanger anyway) I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :o) More soon, hopefully!!!**


	18. The Diagnosis

**Meeeh...I really don't like this chapter at all. I have rewritten and revised this chapter about twenty times over the last few days and I just couldn't figure out any other way to write it...sigh. Sorry if this chapter absolutely sucks...but...I guess it's kinda needed. Yeah, I just don't understand myself. If I don't have writer's block with this story, then I have writer's block on Zanarkand A-East and vice versa. It's frustrating really. Oh well, read anyway! Thanks!**

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**18. The Diagnosis **

"Pregnant?!" I practically shrieked as tears started to flood my eyes. "Oh god, Lenne was pregnant when she died. I'm 19 years old, I'm not married, I'm not...prepared to be pregnant!"

"Yuna, settle down for a second," Tidus said as he tightly gripped my hands.

"Settle down? Yeah right!" I said with a nervous chuckle. He had a grim look on his face and that only made me feel worse. "What is happening?"

That was all I could say as I burst into tears. Tidus sat on my bed and wrapped his arms around me as I started to cry inconsolably. I was aware that I was making the front of his shirt soaking wet, but I don't think he cared. "I don't think Lenne was prepared when she found out she was pregnant either. From what you've told me, and from what the dreams _clearly_ explain, Lenne and Shuyin were only lovers. They weren't married or anything."

"But at least they were able to share a night of passionate love, whereas I get the bad end of it where I just end up pregnant!" I said as I looked up at the ceiling in disbelief that this was happening. "Oh god. Tidus, these dreams are just so real..."

"And we're dreaming the same things," he added as he ran his fingers through my hair. He tried to remain calm, but I could tell that he was freaking out about this just as much as I was.

"What if it's true though?" I asked as I backed away from him and wiped my tear stained face. "What if I...am pregnant?"

"We'd get through it," he said with a worried smile. I know he was trying to look on the bright side, but I knew that he didn't want a child yet either. We both knew that we wanted to be married first. "We took good care of little Vidina when Lulu let us babysit him last week and I think we'll be okay."

"Oh god," I said as I sat up straight when I had another horrifying thought, completely ignoring Tidus' statement. "Who's the father? You? Or...Shuyin?"

"Well, we've never had sex," Tidus said as he started to tap his foot on the ground out of nervousness. He gave me a small smile and added, "unfortunately." I know he was just trying to bring a little sunshine into our conversation, but this was not the time or the place for his hormonal comments.

"Ha ha," I smiled and rolled my eyes. Fear and worry overcame my face again as I leant against the pillows. I gently placed my hands on my stomach, trying to see if I could feel a baby bulge. No change yet, so that was a good sign. "I've never technically had sex with Shuyin either."

"Well, knowing that sex is the only way you can get pregnant and you're still a virgin, that means that you can't be pregnant. Right?" He let out a relieved sigh and kissed me on the cheek.

"But I woke up with blood all over me and I didn't have sex with Shuyin either, it just happened."

Silence fell between us. Me? A mother? I'm 19 years old, I can't be pregnant! Like I said, I'm not married yet! I could practically hear my parents screaming at me from the Farplane. They would be so disappointed in me, but it wasn't like I had sex with someone yet. Maybe I was looking too far into this. It's just me overanalyzing an incredibly real dream. Not to mention, Tidus was...gone...for two years of his life. So does he still feel like he's only 17? How would he feel being a father??

Tidus brushed his fingers over my hand and my tears started to well up again. He was just about to kiss me to comfort me when the door opened. We both looked up to see the doctor standing there with my chart in her hands.

"My lady?" My eyes went wide and I looked up at Tidus, who slowly swallowed. This is it...

"Yes?"

She set her gaze on Tidus and gently smiled. "Is this your husband?"

Great. How do I answer that? No, he's not my husband, but if I'm pregnant, that'll look good. I can see the headlines in the Bevelle Times now, "High Summoner Yuna Pregnant With Illegitimate Child!" Yeah, that would be wonderful. Also, don't you think she would've been aware if I was married or not? I'm sure it would've been over every sphere in Spira.

"Not...really..." I said as I looked up at Tidus for support.

"I'm her fiancée," he said quickly as I slightly winced. That wasn't that great of an answer either. Now everyone in Spira will think I'm getting married. Although I guess that's not a bad thing because I do want to marry Tidus and I guess everyone did know that I went on my sphere hunting gig deliberately to find him.

"Oh, I didn't know you were engaged, Lady Yuna!" She said with a huge smile. I wanted to be like, 'well, that makes two of us,' but I figured that wouldn't have been wise. I simply smiled at her.

"Do you have the results in?" I asked her as I gripped Tidus' hand harder. I think I stopped his circulation from flowing to his fingertips, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Yes, we do." She said with a smile.

"Yes?" I asked, rather impatiently.

"Lady Yuna, you're pregnant."

Even though I saw it coming, my jaw dropped anyway. How can a dream interfere with reality in that magnitude? I just don't understand it!

"Wow, that _is_ news," I said as Tidus gave me a hug. I know that he was just playing it off so rumors wouldn't fly around Spira like crazy, but I just wanted to scream.

"Congratulations." She said with a nod.

"Just a question," I said with a nervous chuckle. "How...far along am I?"

"Almost a month."

"Oh, isn't that funny?" I said with a forced smile toward Tidus. "A month, huh?"

"Well, I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes and then I'll give you further details." Tidus and I both nodded at her and she left the room.

"A MONTH!?" I said with almost a shriek. "How...how is this possible?"

"I was wondering the same thing myself," he said with as he wrinkled his forehead. "Yuna, I don't mean to sound impertinent when I ask you this but—"

"How can you even ask me that?!" He didn't have to finish his sentence for me to know that he wanted to ask me if I slept with anyone else. "You know that I spent the last two years looking for you! Why in Spira would I sleep with anyone else? I was saving myself for you!"

"Yuna, I'm sorry, it's just...a month?" Tears started to stream down my face again in shock. He stood up and started to pace. "I can't handle this."

"_You_ can't handle this?!" I asked, not lowering my voice at all. "You don't have something growing inside of you! You don't have something inside of you where you don't know _how_ it got there! How do you say, 'sorry, sweetie, but your father was simply a _dream_!"

"Well, I wouldn't have had a problem saying that because _I'm_ a dream, but—"

"That's not even funny, Tidus!" I said as I stood up. I would've walked over to him, but the IV in my arm kept me from going anywhere. "Come here."

"Yuna," he said as he walked over to me. I was a hysterical wreck. Tears were streaming down my face as he wrapped me up into a hug. "We'll work things out."

"How?" I asked as I buried my head in his shirt. He was silent so I knew he didn't have an answer. "How do we tell the others?"

"We don't have to yet," he said as he kissed the top of my forehead.

"A baby," I said as I sniffled. "And I thought I would be so happy the moment that I found out I was pregnant."

"Yunie!" We both looked over to see Rikku, who barged into my hospital room. That girl and her timing, you know? She ran over to me and put her hands on my shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. There was an overwhelming fear taking over her bright green eyes, and I have never seen her look that way before.

"What is it?" I asked as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked as her look of fear was replaced with concern.

"I'll be fine," I lied as I smiled at her. "Now, what's wrong?"

"Gippal, Nooj, Baralai, Paine and I went into the Via Infinito—without Leblanc because she was bitching and I forced her to stay in the hotel room, thank god—and we found something that might be of interest to you," she said as she was slightly panting.

"Does it have something to do with Lenne and Shuyin?" I asked out of curiosity as she nodded. I looked over at Tidus who instantly started to shake his head.

"Yuna, no no no no," he said as he moved Rikku out of the way to look at me. He knew that I wanted to go down there and get rid of the pyreflies, fiends, and most importantly, this baby that I was now carrying. "Going down there at this time would not be smart and you know it."

"Tidus, if I can send Shuyin and Lenne, maybe I can get rid of..." I trailed off as Tidus and I both looked over at Rikku. She didn't know about the pregnancy yet, and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to tell her so soon. I wanted to see if I would be able to get rid of the baby by sending Shuyin and Lenne. Rikku bunched her forehead up as she looked at me. Yep, she was clearly lost.

"Get rid of what, Yunie?" She asked as she slightly bounced on her toes.

"Maybe I could get rid of all the fiends," I said slowly as I made up an excuse. It seemed like a logical explanation so she believed me.

"Yeah, well Lenne and Shuyin are holed up down there with a bunch of fiends lookin' to party," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Tidus, we've got to do something about this!" I said as Tidus nodded. I kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you!"

With a sigh, Tidus unwillingly went to the closet to grab my clothing as I ripped out my IV. It stung, but I wouldn't be able to go anywhere with it still in my hand. I took my clothes from Tidus and ran to the bathroom to quickly change. It felt so good to get out of the pajamas that I had been wearing for the last couple of days and change into some real clothing. I walked out of the bathroom, guns in hand and struck a pose, ignoring the poignant look on Tidus' face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Lady Yuna ready for action!"

**The only reason why I needed this chapter was because she needed to find out she's pregnant and also I needed to get her out of the hospital. So yeah, Yuna sneaking out was the only way she was going to be able to leave...but yeah. Sorry this chapter totally sucked...I was so excited for this story too!! It was okay until this chapter!!! Hopefully the next couple of chapters will be better!!!! **


	19. A Feeble Attempt To Give In

**It's about damn time that I updated this story!!! However, it took me a while to figure out how to incorporate one idea to the next....but I figured it out...(with a lot of help!!) and I think I like the way it works out. Okay...read on and you'll understand what I mean!!!**

**19. A Feeble Attempt to Give In**

Fortunately, we didn't have to break out of the hospital. I simply told Rikku to wait outside as I told the doctors and nurses that I would be leaving. I asked them to keep everything about the pregnancy quiet. I didn't want anyone else, mainly my closest friends, to know. I didn't exactly know how to explain the pregnancy to myself let alone to my friends. The people in the hospital staff weren't all that happy about making my decision to leave (and I got a huge lecture about ripping out the IV as well), but with an exasperated sigh, they gave in. If they had made me stay, I would've done something drastic like break out. Not only did I have a big fear of hospitals, I needed to get this baby out of me.

When we arrived at the hotel where everyone was staying, none of them looked surprised that I got out of the hospital. If I didn't know any better, I figured they planned on me leaving because all of their things were packed and they were waiting in the lobby for my return. I told them that nothing was wrong, that I only fainted and I'm fine now. We all walked back to the Celsius to make our next move.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

"So do you think we should just go march right back down to the Via Infinito?" Rikku said as she scrunched her nose. We were conversing in the cabin of the Celsius as we discussed what we were going to do. Rikku was sitting on Gippal's lap on one of the couches, next to them sat Paine and Baralai, Nooj and Leblanc were standing up, Buddy and Brother were leaning against the railing, Tidus was sitting on the other couch, and I was impatiently standing in the middle of them all. We were all silent after Rikku's suggestion, so I was convinced that was something none of us wanted to do.

"I'm not sure," I said as I started to pace. My head was starting to spin and I was starting to develop a migraine. "You guys said that is where Lenne and Shuyin are though, right?"

"Right," Baralai said as he gently placed his hand on Paine's knee. "However, I think we're going to be slightly outnumbered if we just barge on down there."

"We _are_ talking about every single person who has died in the last two years, Yuna," Nooj added as I nodded. I tapped my fingers together and exhaled.

"And the major question," Tidus asked from the couch he was sitting in. He leaned forward and placed his arms on his legs as he continued to speak. "What are we going to do when we find all the unsents? It's not like we can just destroy them again because they are already dead."

"Well, they need to be sent to the Farplane and someone needs to do it," I said, stating the obvious as I stopped my pacing. I looked out the window as if I was searching for an answer, but nothing came to mind. When I faced everyone, they were all looking at me. I put my hands up. "Whoa, let's think about this for a second."

"Thinking," Brother said impatiently as he crossed his arms. "But I'm not coming up with anything. As your leader of the Gullwings, I order _you_ to think of something."

"You aren't expecting me to perform the sending…are you?" I completely ignored Brother's statement as I started to panic. Everyone remained silent because of course they expected me to do it. "Why me?"

"Why not, Yuna?" Gippal asked as I shot him a glare that would stop a Behemoth in its tracks. "Don't throw me that look. I have a point here."

"There were dozens of other summoners who were on pilgrimage when I defeated Sin!" I exclaimed as I placed my hands on my hips. Raising my voice only made my head pound more, so I slightly grimaced at the pain.

"But I think you're the person who is the most…involved in this situation," Tidus said as he stood up and walked over to me. Involved? I had a baby in me from two people who have been dead for a thousand years. It wasn't my choice to get his involved in the situation and it terrified me. He put his hands on my hips as I looked up at him like a lost little girl. "It would make the most sense."

"Please, no," I said in almost a whisper as tears started to flood my eyes. "What about Dona? Or Issaru? They're just as capable as I am to perform the sending. Why make me do it?"

"The last time I talked to Dona, it was when we first activated the airship. She was sitting on the floor seriously considering quitting her pilgrimage. I don't think she'd do it," Tidus said with a sigh as he held me closer to him. "Plus I'm not particularly fond of that woman."

"And Issaru?" Rikku piped up, trying to keep the situation light.

"As much as I hate to say this, but I don't really want to bother anyone else with this burden. I know that if one of them were stuck in the same situation, I wouldn't want them to ask me to do it." I wiped the water from my eyes and let out a sigh. "All right, I'll do it. I guess…I guess there really isn't any other choice."

"We'll be right there with you, Yuna," Nooj said with a smile as he leaned on his cane. I noticed that everyone else was smiling as well, but I just couldn't find it in me to lift the corners of my mouth. Once again, I was suckered into something. I looked down at my hands as everyone else stood up and slightly stretched.

"We'll be on the bridge, Yuna," Buddy said as everyone started to walk out of the cabin.

"I'm gonna rest for a while, okay?" Everyone nodded at me and I sat down on one of the beds. Tidus sat next to me and watched everyone else leave as he put his arm around me.

"I didn't think you'd agree to go through with it," he said as he ran his fingers gently through my hair. The tears started to well up again and I laid down.

"I wasn't going to, but the more we thought about it, the more time we were wasting. I just want this out of me," I said quietly as he snuggled up close to me. "I…I can feel it moving inside of me. Almost like it's angry and wants to get out."

Tidus put his hands on my stomach, then quickly removed them like they were on fire. "What the hell?" He turned me so I was lying on my back and moved the pink lace of my shirt up so he could get a better view of my pregnant belly. "Oh, Yuna…"

I looked down to see what he was seeing. There was now a definite baby bulge and also something was moving around inside, moving my skin around. I tried not to panic, but a small whimper escaped from my lips. "Tidus, what am I going to do?"

"Well, you can't wear that outfit for a while that's for sure," he said, stating that my Gunner Dressphere was too revealing for a pregnant woman. It didn't really show off that much, just my stomach and the cleavage I really didn't have, but it revealed my now pregnant belly. He walked over to my suitcase to grab my garment grids and dresspheres and held them up. "Do you have something that covers your belly?"

"Not something that I would wear on an everyday basis," I said as I sat up. "I mean, as cute as I would look dressed up like a giant moogle, I'd rather not."

"Well, I guess it's not _that_ noticeable," he said as he attempted a smile. I didn't smile back though because it was very noticeable. Everyone that was on the Celsius knows that I'm slightly neurotic when it comes to my weight and I would never let myself look like this. Well, of course, until I was pregnant with Tidus' baby. I didn't want everyone to know that I was pregnant, so I wanted it to stay concealed. I simply ran my fingers over my stomach as I continued to ponder. My head shot up as I gasped. "Their connection to this world!"

"Huh?" Tidus said as he gave me a confused look. Everything was clear in my mind now as I sat up and looked at him. "What do you mean?

"Their connection to this world!" I stated again as Tidus gave me a look that told me to continue. "Well, a few days ago I was talking to Rikku about Lord Jyscal. 'A powerful emotion could have bounded him to this world. Such things happen.'"

"I'm still lost."

"Lulu told us that after I sent Lord Jyscal to the Farplane! The powerful emotion that is keeping Shuyin and Lenne here is because of their baby," I continued touching my stomach as I thought. I thought I could feel small shocks being sent from my stomach to my fingertips, but I could've been imagining things.

"It still doesn't explain anything," he said as he sat up as well. "I mean, the only way that they wouldn't have been sent is if you already had the baby in you when you sent them. I hope that makes some sense because I just confused myself."

"No, it makes sense," I said as I bit my lip. "Being so emotional, having hormonal imbalances, having a motherly instinct when were babysitting Vidina…Maybe when Lenne shot out of my body when she was reunited with Shuyin the baby pyreflies remained in me?"

"I guess that could make sense," Tidus said as I smiled. "Well, we just need to give the baby back and then send them."

"I don't know how sending them will rid myself of the baby." Tidus shrugged and looked like he wanted to say something, yet didn't know the right words to say. My headache started to lessen, but I still felt extremely lightheaded. I looked over at Tidus and he started to look blurry. "Tidus…."

"Yes?" He said as he walked over to me again. I could feel and hear myself talking, but I wasn't making myself say these things…

"I can't believe I'm going to be a mother." I let a smile break out on my face as he gave me a puzzled look.

"We're going to get this out of you, Yuna," he said as I started to giggle.

"I want it."

"You…what?" He said as he looked into my sparkling eyes. "Yuna, it's um…not yours."

"What are you saying?" I said as anger flared up in my eyes and I stood up. I felt as if I didn't have control over myself anymore. I was moving, but I wasn't telling my body to do so. "Are you saying I'm not worthy of becoming a mother?"

"Yuna, what is going on with you?" He exclaimed as he stood up as well.

"Shuyin, don't act this way!"

"Oh shit," he said as he grabbed me by the arms and looked me in the eyes. "Yuna, don't channel Lenne right now. I need you to stay with us!"

"I _am_ Lenne, what are you talking about?" He was talking to me, but I couldn't hear him, I couldn't focus on him. I was losing complete control of my body…nothing made sense to me anymore. I wanted to tell him that I was there…that I was listening…but how could I when I couldn't even hear him? A blinding pain shot from my stomach to my brain and everything again faded to black.

**End Of Part One**

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**Ha ha...sneaky me! Making it into two parts. I think it'll be a while before I post the next few chapters....because I already have them written, but a large part of me wants to continue writing until it's completely done....then make you wait in suspense. I don't know...I'm really enjoying writing the second part more...it's fun to explore it. **

**Oh, by the way, I think I'm going to put Zanarkand A-East on hiatus for a while....It's kind of a personal thing....the last chapter is very close to what happened to me recently (No, i don't have a boyfriend....but...nevermind)....so I'm going to wait until the storm calms down a little bit....because...Yeah, just take my word for it. ::sigh:: I also want to finish this story....So hopefully I'll have part two posted in a little bit!!!**


	20. A New Point Of View, A New Idea

**Alrighty, here we are! Part Two of This Is My Story! It took a while for me to get these chapters to work out the way I wanted them to...and for the most part, I'm pretty happy with them. However, I'm not sure if I like the Epilogue....it's too fluffy....and for me to say that something is TOO fluffy (coming from the Fluff Queen over here) it's pretty bad. Idk...I'll have to tweak that a little bit. But yeah, I'm basically done with this story. Part Two is in Tidus' POV, and I must say...I really liked writing in his POV. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed it. I hope you do as well! Writing for Tidus was a lot different than writing for Yuna-possessed-by-evil-Lenne. Okay, enough with me blabbing (I do that a lot, sorry!), here you are! Oh, and Happy Holidays to you all as well!!!!!**

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_**Beginning of Part Two**_

1. A New Point Of View, A New Idea

"Yuna!" I yelled as I shook her shoulders. She was out cold again; exactly the same way that she was when we were in the Via Infinito. Part of me wanted to bring her back to the New Yevon Hospital, but I knew there wasn't anything that they could do for her. It was like she was being possessed. When I first came back, she told me how Shuyin possessed people in the Den of Woe and destroyed everyone in the Crimson Squad except Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal. Shortly after the decimation of the Crimson Squad, Shuyin possessed Nooj and Baralai, as if he wanted everyone to know his pain and suffering.

When I was in the hospital with Yuna, holding her hand tightly and praying that she woke up, I actually had a heart to heart talk with Paine. I never thought that girl was capable of speaking longer than three word phrases. She's not exactly the talkative type. However, when she talks about Baralai, she becomes a completely different person. She loves him very much, and it's obvious. She told me that almost every night she is woken up by Baralai struggling and crying in his sleep by reoccurring dreams of the possession by Shuyin. She also said that it takes several minutes to calm his tears and shaking. Thinking of what Paine said that day reminded me of the first night that I came back; Yuna and I were sleeping, but I woke up to her tossing and turning. However, she didn't wake up. She simply calmed down after a few minutes.

I looked down at my unconscious girlfriend and gently stroked her hair. I wondered if she was having dreams of Lenne and Shuyin again. That thought made me scared to sleep for a while knowing that when Yuna dreams of them, I tend to as well. That leads to the question; why are the dreams connected?

Dreams…I was a dream of the Fayth. I was based off of Shuyin, right? The way I acted, the way I looked; hell, we both even had one of our ears pierced. Of course the most prominent thing that connected Shuyin and I; we both had an intense love for a certain summoner. I was willing to do anything to find a way so Yuna wouldn't have to die, much like Shuyin did with Lenne. Both Shuyin and I knew that our love for our summoner was blinding and we couldn't have lived without them…

I contemplated carrying Yuna to the bridge, but I figured that she wasn't going anywhere. Not to mention that Barkeep was at the bar, well…keeping it…so he would be able to make sure that nothing happened. I gently moved her so her head rested on the pillow and she was snuggly tucked in the covers with her moogle next to her.

After asking Barkeep to keep an eye on Yuna, I took the elevator up to the bridge to go tell everyone else what happened. I ran my fingers through my hair as the doors to the bridge opened up and everyone looked at me. I stood at the top of the stairs for a moment as they grew quiet.

"Where's Yunie?" Rikku asked as I slowly walked down the stairs.

"She was channeling Lenne again," I said simply as everyone all looked down. "I don't know how long she's going to be out, so I think we're either going to have to wait a while and risk war upon Spira or we're going to have to think of another plan."

"I think Baralai has a plan," Paine said as she looked at Baralai. Baralai looked up with a chocobo-in-headlights gaze and slightly blushed. We all fixed our eyes on him as he meekly smiled.

"Well, B?" Gippal asked as Baralai shook his head.

"I'm not even sure it would work." Paine gently nudged him and he continued. "I haven't actually tried it, though it should work in theory."

"What?" I asked as I walked closer to them all.

"When I attended the Bevelle Temple for schooling several years ago, I volunteered to help one of my teachers, Maester Wen Kinoc, with his grading of papers to help boost my grade slightly. In my efforts, I actually became rather close with him, and it turned into him giving me my own set of his keys. That wayI would be able to let myself into his office to check papersand notbe disturbed as he taught other classes. One day I became rather meddlesome and started to look through his private bookshelves that he kept locked up. I had the key because it was on the same chain that he gave me. Among the copious amount of private books, I found the most amazing collection. They contained many articles and diary entries of many important people of Spira; mages, guardians, summoners, even the past maesters of Yevon. Each article and entry contained a variety of different things that went back to the very first encounter with Sin. There were entries about what summoners were feeling as they were on their pilgrimage, the attachment that some guardians felt toward their summoners—such as Lord Zaon and Lady Yunalesca--, old spells for remedies that mages created, et cetera. Every day I found myself finding time to go into his office with a notebook and take down notes of interesting things that I found. I was only able to get through about half of the first book without him knowing before he suggested that I should try to be a candidate for the Crimson Squad. It sounded like an excellent opportunity for me to put forth all my hard work into helping Spira, so I agreed. After spending some time in the Crimson Squad, I merely forgot about the books and all my notes.

"After the Crimson Squad failed and I returned to Bevelle, I heard that Maester Kinoc was killed very recently. I was devastated, so I went back to see if they cleared out his office yet. They didn't, so I used my keys to take out the collection of books that I was so interested in. I really did want to read them all and having them in my own possession allowed me to do so.

"At first, it was a slow reading process due to the fact that I was being appointed Praetor and I didn't have a lot of spare time on my hands. However, as time went on, I found myself locking the door to my study so I could spend hours reading those volumes without disturbance. They were intriguing, and I felt that if I continued reading, I would be able to become a better Praetor. Not to mention that there were a lot of secrets about Yevon that no one knew of, except for the people who wrote the entry or article and the people who have read the manuscripts. For example, it talked about how all the Maesters of Yevon were unsent, and--"

"While we're young, Baralai," Paine interrupted as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. I even had to stop myself from yawning because his story was starting to drag on. Talk about Maechen, the next generation.

"Sorry," he apologized and continued to arrive at his point. "Anyway, about halfway through one of the volumes, there was a rather lengthy section from an old mage who lived roughly 600 years ago. He was rather fascinated with the accomplishments of Lord Ohalland and saw that it was unfortunate that he died at such a young age by 'sacrificing' himself to defeat Sin. That started him on a train of thought that could've developed into something monumental. He wondered what would happen if summoners didn't exist. There wasn't much about what to do about Sin, but more or less about sendings. It's almost like exorcism, but a lot more concentration and magic involved."

"Will it work?" Rikku asked as I rubbed the back of my head in thought as we all listened in suspense.

"The thing is, that mage that first brought it up was murdered during a raid on Yevon at the temple that he resided in. It was a rather large disappointment to myself because I was so captivated by his theory, and to have it suddenly come to a halt was torture. Due to the fact that I never was fond of the reality that summoners sacrificed themselves while everyone else sat back and watched, I cross referenced it through many of the books to see if anyone else wrote about what they thought of his theory. Come to find out, many more theorists shared the same thoughts about what would happen, and after reading his article, they started to add onto it. A couple of them even admitted to trying it out and having it work. However, it takes so much concentration and so much magic power that I'm not sure I would be able to handle it."

"Are you capable of doing it though?" I asked as my head started to fill with ideas.

"Like I said, I'm not sure, Tidus." He shook his head and sighed.

"Okay, let me ask the same question in a different way," I said, walking over to him and looking him in the eye. "If this saves my girl, would you be willing to do it?"

"Yuna's my friend," he said as he brushed his platinum hair out of his face. "I would be willing to do anything to help her. She saved me from Shuyin and I can't thank her enough."

"Saving her from Lenne would be a start," I said quietly as I thought of her lying upstairs.

"It's not like Lenne has an amazing thrall over her though," Nooj stated, trying to stay level headed. I looked down and sighed at how calm he was. "Shuyin actually had the power to control people to do horrifying things; such as shooting other people or trying to destroy Spira."

"Yuna's…" I had to trail off. I wasn't sure how I would explain the phenomenon that was going on inside of Yuna right now, and I certainly didn't want them to be as scared as I was. Seeing her stomach ripple as somethingmoved aroundinside of her terrified me down to the core.

"What's wrong with Yunie?" Rikku asked as worry washed over her features. I looked off to the side as I could feel everyone staring at me.

"She's pregnant," I said quietly as everyone gasped and Rikku squealed. The look of delight on everyone's faces should've thrilled me, but it only broke my heart more.

"Well, you certainly didn't waste any time," Paine said dryly as a smile crept on her lips.

"I'm going to be an auntie!" Rikku exclaimed as she ran up to me and hugged me tightly. "You're going to be a daddy!"

"Hold up," I said, halting everyone's excitement over my announcement. "It's not mine." I could've set off a grenade and gotten the same response from the group of people that were in the Celsius. Brother even jerked the controls of the Celsius, causing all of us to almost lose our balance.

"Cunno!" He apologized as we all grabbed onto something to stay on our feet. Rikku backed away from me in horror of what I said.

"What do you mean, it's not yours?" She asked, asking the question that was undoubtedly going through everyone's mind.

"This is going to be really embarrassing to say," I said as I looked at Rikku, "but remember that one night in the hotel room when I was having really erotic dreams?"

"Oh yeah!" She said as she started to giggle uncontrollably. "That was hilarious!"

"Shut up," I said as my face flushed. "Anyway, Yuna had the same graphic dream."

"The same dream?" Nooj said as he folded his hands over the cane he uses to get around. "I'm almost afraid to ask this question, but what happened in the dream?"

"It was a dream that contained Lenne and Shuyin, obviously," I said as Rikku walked back to join Gippal. I sighed and I told them everything; about the dream, about how she's pregnant, and of course, how the baby inside of her is rapidly growing, and how it's thrashing about inside.

Rikku's emerald eyes grew larger with every word I said about what was going on with her beloved cousin that I'm surprised she didn't pass out. She looked almost as petrified as I was at the time and I don't think she knew how to take the news. She had to lean against the wall in shock as she looked at me with a quivering lip. After a second, she walked over to Baralai, fell into his arms and started to cry.

"Help Yunie, Baralai," she said as she wept. We all walked over to Baralai and he nodded his head as he consoled the crying blonde in his arms.

"B, just think," Gippal said as he put his hand on Baralai's shoulder. "If this works, you could train others to do this. Just think about it. Hundreds of people able to do this instead of relying on a few summoners."

"I'll do my best," he stated firmly as we all attempted smiles. "I just need some supplies from my office."

"Brother, to Bevelle!" Rikku said as she wiped her tears.

"I'll go get Yuna," I said as I went back into the cabin. She hadn't moved, but it wasn't like I expected her to have done so. I gently planted a kiss on her rosy pink lips and stroked her pale cheek with my fingers. She looked so pale; like all the color was extracted out of her body, much like a drain spell steals life. I crawled into the bed and held her still body close against mine and whispered into her ear, hoping that she could hear me, "Yuna, you're going to be okay…"

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**I hope you all liked Baralai's long speech in the middle of this chapter...I had fun writing it. I have to give major props to TheCalligrapher for giving me the idea though. Thanks, girl, you're awesome. I was going to add something else into the end of this, but I don't remember what it was....Oh well. Just for the record, "Cunno" in Al Bhed means "Sorry." (Brother said it when he jerked the controls) There are only like two more chapters and the Epilogue left in this story, so I'll update soon. ) Once again, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!! **


	21. Back To Bevelle A New Discovery

**Hey everyone, this is a rather long chapter, but it's very important to the events that are going on in the story. Once again I must say, I loved writing in Tidus' POV. It was so much fun! Much different than writing for Yuna. Okay, that's all for the author's notes for this chapter...I hope you enjoy!!**

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**2. Back To Bevelle/A New Discovery**

Bevelle had certainly had us frequent it lately with everything that was going on. I felt like we just left Bevelle, yet here we were, back in the Temple of New Yevon. Gippal and Rikku stayed on the Celsius to watch over Yuna because we figured it wouldn't have been smart to bring the High Summoner unconscious into Bevelle. It would've caused people to go somewhat amok, thus initiating more problems than we needed right now.

We all followed Baralai to his office, with me thinking about Yuna with every step I took. He unlocked and opened the large mahogany doors to reveal his remarkable office. Everything was spotless, save for a few papers that littered his desk. He had two of his walls dedicated to bookshelves covered in glass, and the other two contained pictures and framed documents. I felt awful walking on the thick, plush carpet with my boots on, but Baralai didn't seem to care. I just prayed they weren't full of mud and dirt.

As Baralai used his keys to open one of the glass bookshelves, I walked over to look at the things that adorned his walls. I admired his diploma, many awards he had been given, and the like. He had accomplished so much, as did many of the other people that stood around me. I was standing in the presence of the Praetor of New Yevon, the Meyvn of the Youth League, and the leader of the Machine Faction was in the airship watching over the most beautiful girl that I have ever met. Even Yuna had accomplished so much; she now carries the title 'High Summoner' and has saved Spira twice in her life.

So much happened during the time I was…nonexistent. I honestly don't know where I was. I'm assuming I was somewhere in the depths of the Farplane, floating as a single pyrefly among billions. I don't recall anything that happened to me over the past two years. It seemed like one second I gave my father a high five and the next I blinked… and I was surrounded in water, hugging my knees, with a couple of pyreflies around me. I'm assuming they were pyreflies from the Fayth that brought me back. I stretched and swam back up to the surface to see the small village of Besaid. Yuna…she was the only thing I could think of as I placed two fingers in my mouth and whistled. I was back.

I was home.

Seeing the airship hatch open and Yuna jumping out made my heart leap practically out of my chest. She looked outstanding. She was a new Yuna; independent and more mature. However, it almost didn't seem fair. She spent two years trying to find me, having some hope that I was still alive somewhere…yet I wasn't aware of it. I couldn't help but look down at my hands to realize that I was standing here in Baralai's office and I was alive.

"Hey, Tidus!" I whipped my head up to see everyone staring at me. They were obviously ready to go, but I was off in my own little world again. "You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry," I said as I snapped back into reality. I walked over to Baralai's desk, picked up a few books, and followed the others outside of Bevelle. "Hey, guys, this might sound like a crazy thought, but why are we leaving Bevelle when we have to go to the Via Infinto to do the exorcism, when it's right in Bevelle?"

"I need some preparation time, Tidus," Baralai said, a slight edge in his voice. My blood actually chilled for a moment when he snapped at me like that. Geez, I didn't know. I guess that just proves how much of a hurry I was in to have Yuna healed and baby free.

"Oh," I said simply as I shut my mouth and we walked out of the Temple in silence.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

We reached the cabin of the Celsius approximately ten minutes later, and we dispersed when we walked on the bridge. Baralai, Paine, Nooj, and Leblanc started cross-referencing Baralai's notes with the text from the books, and I walked back onto the cabin to see how Yuna was doing.

The door to the cabin opened as I approached it, and Gippal whipped his head up from the bar where he was sitting. He was tapping his fingers against the wood as Barkeep washed several dishes and hummed a random tune. I gently waved to him and he nodded in response.

"Hey, man," he said as I patted him on the back as I started to walk toward the stairs. "She's the same."

"Damn," I said under my breath. I ascended the stairs to see Yuna still lying in the bed I placed her in with Rikku sitting on the next bed over, holding her hand. Seeing Yuna proved Gippal's statement correct, she was still the same. Still unconscious. Still possessed. Not to mention, her belly was becoming even more noticeable. I swallowed hard as I looked how the sheet over her was slightly moving.

Rikku looked up at me with tired eyes and I sat down next to her. She placed her head on my shoulder as I gently rubbed her back. "Yunie's going to be okay, isn't she?"

"I sure hope so, Rikku," I said honestly as she handed me Yuna's hand. I rubbed the top of her hand with my fingers gently and sighed. "I sure hope so."

"Did you find everything in Baralai's office?" She asked as I nodded. "Is he going to find the spell?"

"They're looking over everything right now, but Baralai has about eight hundred pages of notes that he's taken down from this one theory so it will probably take a good amount of time." Rikku exhaled the breath she was holding and sat up straight. I could hear Gippal walking up the stairs, but neither of us turned toward him. "I just wanted to see how she was doing. I'm going to go help them look through stuff."

"We'll come, too," Gippal said as he handed both Rikku and I glasses of water. "The more people who look through this stuff, the faster we can get this all resolved."

"Thanks, you guys," I replied as I took a sip from the glass. "I guess she's not going anywhere."

"Yeah," Rikku said as she stood up and slightly stretched her legs. "Let's go back to the bridge."

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

"Hey, I know a way to make looking through a zillion papers even more boring!" We could hear Leblanc's whining all the way from the elevator, but none of us were necessarily surprised. We entered the bridge to see Nooj, Baralai and Paine giving her an irritated gaze as she added, "On second thought, no, I don't."

"We're here to help," I said as I grabbed a handful of Baralai's papers and sat on the ground. Rikku and Gippal did the same, and I queerly looked at the pages. I blinked a few times to see if my eyes were just tired, but to no avail, I couldn't read it. "Why can't I understand this?"

"It's in Latin," Baralai replied simply as I slightly groaned. "What's the matter?"

"Latin," I said again as I threw my head back. "It's one of those dead languages that I've always meant to learn, but never have taken the time to do so."

"Here," Baralai said as he handed me a few books. "These aren't in Latin, but you're going to need to go through the pages carefully to look for mentions of this process."

This was going to be a great process, I could already tell. The man takes his notes down in Latin; definitely proves that he is an overachiever. There was silence in the bridge, and I have to admit that was the first time I have ever heard it. Usually people were talking, or in Rikku and Brother's case, bitching at each other in Al Bhed. Now, the only sounds that were heard contained the wind passing around the airship, us turning pages, or Leblanc's constant impatient sighing. Nooj and Leblanc were such an interesting couple. I have no idea how he could even tolerate her. Also, what was that threat that she constantly gave him? 'The heel?' What the hell was that all about? Every time she mentioned that to him, he became strangely quiet. Part of me wanted to know, but the other part (the larger part, may I add) was too afraid of the answer.

"Ah ha!" Baralai said as he quickly looked between the book in front of him and his notes. We all looked up at him and Paine leaned toward him to see what he made his exclamation over. He fingered the words on the book to make sure that he was reading them correctly. A smile broke out on his face, and he even chuckled. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"What is it?" Paine asked, not seeing the connection between the book and the pages.

"Once again, I say, 'ah ha!'" He stated again as he flipped over a page and started to mutter something. I couldn't understand him, so I was assuming that he was reading his Latin notes. I stood up with a book in my hand so I could look at it. All that was on it was a cluster of words and a symbol of some kind.

"We got that part, B, now what is it?" Gippal asked as he and Rikku stood up as well. They put their hands on the table as we all huddled in toward each other.

"Look at this!" He pointed to the symbol that was in the book, then pointed to the same symbol on his notes.

"It kinda looks like a chocobo riding a hover," Rikku said as she scrunched her nose. None of us saw the connection between the symbol and what Rikku said, so we all gave her confused looks. "Or not."

"I think it looks like a snowflake attacking a Ronso on Mt. Gagazet during a snowstorm in the middle of—"

"Explain to us what it is, Baralai," I said as I impatiently cut off Leblanc's ridiculous statement. Okay, I guess it did kind of look like a snowflake, but there was no way it could look like a Ronso as well.

"It's the Emblem of Imasakiza," he said as he pointed to it in his notes.

"Okay, but what is its purpose in this whole ordeal?" I asked as I took the book in my hand to read the words that surrounded it.

"It's an old magical symbol that basically means 'cleansing.' An old mage about sixty years after the first mage thought of the idea tried to think of a way to make the exorcism work, and he came up with this symbol. You see, when people die, their souls remain intact in their bodies. If a summoner does not perform the summoning dance, the souls begin the envy the living. The envy turns to hate, and eventually the souls transform the dead into fiends, which prey on the living." Hearing all this again made me feel like I was talking to Lulu at the beginning of Yuna's pilgrimage. She explained this whole process to me before I first saw Yuna perform the sending dance in Kilika. I remember standing on the deck as she walked on water and danced so gracefully. Everyone just stood there watching her. It was strange, and somehow…horrifying. I knew I never wanted to see it again, but unfortunately, I saw it several times. First in Kilika, then after Operation Mi'ihen, then finally when we defeated Sin. The aeons, Sin…even Auron…bursting into pyreflies to find their way to the Farplane.

I knew how much it hurt Yuna to watch those pyreflies fly out of everyone's bodies….to see the crying faces of the loved ones of the departed. Yet, that was the path she chose. How could anyone live a life like that? I remember thinking after Operation Mi'ihen, 'People die, and Yuna dances. When will she stop dancing? When will it stop? Yuna won't stop dancing—not until Sin is gone." But now, Sin _is_ gone. The teachings of Yevon never explained what would happen to all the souls when Sin was defeated. No one knew that the good in souls of dead people would deteriorate the same way; still hate, still turn them into fiends.

I didn't realize that I stopped listening to Baralai until Rikku waved her hand in front of my face. I guess that proves that I've been thinking too much lately and not paying attention to the important matters at hand. I was still trying to adjust. Like I said, I was gone for two years and so many things had happened. Now, it was as if I was remembering everything that happened during Yuna's pilgrimage, and now I was taking bits and pieces from then and applying them to a new puzzle. I blinked several times, shook my head, then looked back at them all. "Sorry," I apologized quietly as I put the book back down on the table. "So what needs to be done?"

"The emblem was actually inscribed in a beautiful crystal globe that was handed down for generations through the royal family of Yevon," he said as he flipped to a new page of his notes and pointed to something. "Look, see? The Grand Mage of the court, who figured out the power that this emblem could possess, presented the orb as a gift to Lady Yunalesca for her birthday. He was secretly in love with her and did not want her to go on her pilgrimage and die, so he explained to her that he was doing an investigation to find another way to do sendings. She laughed at him and told him he was being absurd, hurting the Grand Mage so deeply that he stopped his research. However, she did like the gift, so she kept it and turned it into a family heirloom. When she did leave for her pilgrimage, she gave it to her sister, then she passed it down to her daughter, and so on and so forth."

"I never knew that Yunalesca had a sister," I said as Baralai grinned.

"There are a lot of secrets about the royal family of Yevon that no one knows about except for the people who have taken time to read these books. Yu Yevon had several wives, which resulted into having many children." I could tell he wanted to go further into some of the details, but he knew it wasn't relevant to the things that were currently going on. "I'll save it for another time."

"What's the significance of this crystal globe thingie?" Rikku asked as she took the book out of my hand and tried to find the answer to her question.

"Well, it has the power to extract the souls from the bodies of the dead and guide them to the Farplane," he said as he pointed to the spot in the book and looked back at his notes. "Yeah, it basically has the same power that summoners had when they performed sendings. The only difference is that the person saying the spell doesn't need to take on the emotional stress of the procedure. I guess I can't confirm that though."

"So if this globe was sent down through generations, how are we going to find it?" Gippal asked as Baralai slightly blushed.

"I have it. I received it as a present from the previous successor of New Yevon when I was called into office as Praetor. I've kept it in my office ever since. I've, um, been using it as a paperweight. It's been so long since I've read over these notes that I just forgot that it actually has a meaning to it." He flipped to the next page in the pile of notes that was in front of him and nodded again. "Okay, here's the story where a mage actually tried this course of action and claims that it worked. Here's the spell that he used."

"Oy, more Latin!" Rikku said as she looked over Baralai's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's no problem though," he shrugged as he looked up at us all. "I'm fluent."

"So, back to Bevelle then?" Paine asked as she shut her book.

"Yeah. We don't have time to test this though," Baralai said as he swallowed hard. I could tell that he was happy that he figured out what needed to be done, but also terrified that he would have to be the one trying this out.

"What happens if, um, it doesn't work?" Rikku said nervously as she started to play with the scarf that hung from around her neck.

"Let's not try to think about that," Baralai said as he stood up and slightly stretched.

"That's not very comforting," I said with a slight laugh.

"It's the only hope we've got," he said as he scratched the back of his head. "However, Tidus, I have to tell you something that you're probably not going to want to hear."

"What's that?"

"In order to rid Yuna of the baby that she's carrying, she has to be close enough to Shuyin and Lenne to be in the light of the Orb of Imasakiza." My eyes widened and I let out a scoff.

"How close are we talking here?"

"I'm assuming within three or four yards," he said as he nodded.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I exclaimed as I threw my hands in the air. "What happens if the spell doesn't work then? She's going to be so close to Lenne and Shuyin, and if we piss them off, she'll be their first target!"

"But you _have_ to do it, okay?" He ordered as I looked up at the ceiling of the Celsius in disbelief. "Tidus, listen to me. I don't want anything to happen to Yuna either, okay? I will do everything in my power to protect her from harm. You have to trust me on this."

"Okay, fine, I trust you." I looked down at my shoes as Rikku gently patted my arm. I tried to let out a small smile, but only the corners of my mouth perked up. The rest of my face was downcast.

"Okay, let's go back to Bevelle, grab the orb, then go down the Via Infinito," Baralai said as he walked over to Brother to give him the command to fly back to Bevelle.

I wanted to trust him; I wanted to believe that she would be okay. But there was something in the back of my head telling me that this wasn't going to work. Baralai was talking about things that were based on theory, not fact. So one mage claimed that this worked. That's one opinion. You would think that more people would've tried it if someone got it to work! The whole process seemed really suspicious to me, but there wasn't anything else I could do but hope that it would work. Baralai was right, we didn't have any other choice.


	22. Into The Darkness

**This is a really long chapter, but it definitely my favorite chapter that I have written for this story. It's mostly Tidus' thought process...but I like writing for him...therefore, I like this chapter. Only the Epilogue remains for this fic...I hope you've enjoyed it...**

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**3. Into The Darkness**

It was amazing how silent we all were as we walked into Baralai's office again. This time, I carried Yuna in my arms, and of course that caused concern with everyone that we passed. I had a sheet wrapped around her to keep her concealed because we knew that people would question even more about how she's pregnant than they would if they just saw her unconscious. It would've been more of a pain and a complete waste of time to go all the way back to the Celsius and grab her after retrieving the Orb off of Baralai's desk, so we just decided that I would carry her. We ignored everyone's questions and gasps when they saw the unconscious High Summoner in my arms and continued to walk to the Teleport Glyph that would bring us to the Via Infinito.

Thankfully, we were able to just warp to the 100th Cloister and didn't have to waste countless hours of time (not to mention risk our health) by descending floor by floor. This place gave me the creeps anyway, no use staying down there longer than I had to.

When we reached the 100th Cloister, I saw a sight that sent a chill down my spine and froze the blood in my veins. Shuyin and Lenne, standing among a sea of pyreflies, standing on a large emblem of something on the floor. I couldn't tell what it was, and I wasn't about to walk up to get a closer look. It was releasing a strange glow, which reflected off of their features, making them look even more sadistic.

Looking at Shuyin was exactly like looking into a mirror. Same features, same hair, same way we stood, everything was just the same. I knew that everything in my life was basically based off of his, but seeing him face to face was something I don't think I was ready to handle. The similarities were too astounding.

Holding Yuna tightly in my arms as I watched Lenne and Shuyin looking over at me was quite possibly the most frightening experience I have ever had to go through. The hatred in their eyes…I have seen that look before. I have seen it in Yuna's eyes lately; proof that the pyreflies truly took over her true being. The calm, cool-natured girl that I left two years ago was just possessed now. She was an empty shell filled with foreign feelings of two disturbed people.

Will it ever stop for her? Is her fate to forever be the target for fiends to come after? Will she one day be able to just live her own life instead of risking her life for the people of Spira?

These questions filled my head as I swallowed hard. Lenne and Shuyin had their gaze directed on me. I was their center of attention because I held the carrier of their child. They wanted the baby safe and the rest of us dead. For as nervous as Baralai had looked before, he now looked as though he had enough confidence to take on anything that came his way.

"Tidus," I looked over at Baralai as he shut one of the books that he had been studying from and handed it to Paine. She gave him a worried look as she gently placed the book against her chest. We were all nervous because we weren't sure what was even going to happen, or if this was even going to work. What if it didn't work? What, were we going to have to fight Shuyin, Lenne, and all the potential fiends on our own? If we pissed the two of them off enough, the pyreflies would all turn into fiends, and would attack at their beckoning. Being equipped with our weapons didn't make me feel protected at all. Baralai pointed to the walkway toward the emblem, Lenne, and Shuyin without saying a word and reached into his pocket for the Orb of Imasakiza.

"Yes?" I asked as he just shook his finger to emphasis the gesture. "What? Oh no, you're not making me put her closer to them!" I spoke in a harsh whisper as I held Yuna closer to me. Baralai walked up to me and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Tidus, I warned you about this already," he said firmly as I vehemently shook my head. I knew that I had to, it was the only way to complete the exorcism, but it could also lead to a direct path to her death. She was helpless and unaware of what was going on in my arms, and I felt that I would be betraying her.

"If you don't, Lenne and Shuyin will come directly for us!" Rikku said as she let go of Gippal's arm and grabbed out her thief swords. As I looked around, I realized that everyone else reached for his or her weapon as well. I glanced down at Yuna one more time and shuddered as I exhaled.

Her skin was so paper thin and pale that it almost looked translucent, her lips looked the same color as the snow that constantly fell on Mt. Gagazet, and of course, her pregnant stomach had something moving about in it. Pyreflies started to head straight for Yuna and I; I'm assuming directed toward Lenne and Shuyin's baby. I tried to keep my stature as the pyreflies buzzed in my ear and soared around me.

"Tidus!" Paine yelled at me as I looked away from Yuna and directed my gaze toward Paine's voice. The pyreflies that were surrounding everyone else now started to fall toward the ground and transform into people. Unsents. They all had the same ghoulish look on their face as they started to head our way.

I know everyone was waiting for me, but I just couldn't find it in my soul to do it. I felt as if I were sacrificing her. Sacrifice; the one word that Yuna grew up on. Her mother made a sacrifice for love by betraying her Al Bhed family when she went off and married a man who believed in Yevon. Her father sacrificed himself for Sin. And of course, Yuna even was willing to sacrifice herself on her own pilgrimage to defeat Sin.

"No, I don't want this anymore," I said firmly as I gritted my teeth. No one heard me; they were all too busy fighting off the unsents, who had morphed into fiends. "I can't do it."

"What are you waiting for?" Gippal shouted above the clash of sword and flesh. Destroying the fiends only made the situation worse for us, due to the fact that when the fiends burst into pyreflies, the pyreflies turned into more fiends. We were running in a downhill spiral right now. 'Spira is full of death. It is a cycle of death, spiraling endlessly.' Auron's words ran through my mind as I slightly gripped Yuna harder.

To my shock, she moved, causing the blanket that was over her to fall to the floor. I was too busy thinking that I didn't even realize the abundance of pyreflies that were seeping into her skin. I realized what I was observing; 'the pyreflies seeping into her skin.' When she passed out in the Via Infinito, I remember pyreflies billowing around her then simply disappearing. They were entering her, filling her with memories and with a child. The thought dawned on me and my breathing started to accelerate. I looked down at her face in horror as she fluttered her eyelids then opened her eyes.

Her eyes were completely black. No sclera…no green or blue iris from her Al Bhed and Yevonite heritage…Just blackness, like two gaping holes that led to an abyss in her beautiful face.

"Baralai!" I yelped as she started to struggle in my arms.

"Put her down!" Baralai said as he barely escaped a large blow that was headed directly for his shoulder. I almost objected, but I realized that I didn't have any other choice. I started to walk closer to Lenne and Shuyin as Yuna thrashed about in my arms, thinking of where to put her. I tried to gently place her on the ground, but with the way she was moving, I practically dropped her. Luckily, she landed on her feet and was able to stand up on two wobbly legs. "Back away, Tidus!"

I obeyed and ran back to where Paine, Gippal, and Rikku were fighting fiends. Nooj, Leblanc, Buddy, and Brother were about twenty feet away from them, doing the same thing. As I pulled my sword out of the holster and stood in a fighting stance, I glanced over at Yuna again. I looked up to see that Yuna had walked over by Lenne and Shuyin and stood in front of them. Lenne turned Yuna around and looked into her black eyes, as if she was looking right into her soul. Shuyin gently placed a hand on Yuna's back and smiled. As a shiver ran up my spine from the horrific sight, I could hear Baralai start the spell in Latin, softly at first then his voice became louder with the intensity of the spell.

"Ego temerarius vestri intentio!" With those words, Lenne and Shuyin stopped smiling, and Shuyin pulled out his sword. I glanced at the sword that was in my hand and had to shake my head when I realized that it was the same one that Shuyin was holding. Yuna turned toward Baralai with her two guns in her hands, ready to shoot. I cursed at myself that I didn't unarm her, but part of me believed that she was going to wake up and help us with the battle. If she were to wake up without her weapons or dresspheres, she would've been helpless. Having her armed was my only way of staying optimistic throughout this whole ordeal. I could see the look of fear wash over Baralai's face as he saw her raise her arms, but he continued to speak the spell with the Orb of Imasakiza starting to emit a bright blue glow in his hand. "Qui flos unus timeo! Solvo vestri queritor et en universitas!"

Yuna started to walk toward Baralai, and after a good five yards, she stopped once again. She carefully aimed, and used Trigger Happy right toward him. We all let out a warning shout toward Baralai, but he calmly put up his free hand toward Yuna. The bullets seemed to ricochet off of an imaginary shield and turn into feathers. We all watched in disbelief as the feathers floated down toward the ground. My mouth was slightly agape and I noticed that Yuna had the same look on her ghastly face. Sweat beaded up on Baralai's forehead and as he continued, colorful spheres of light started to surround his body. It reminded me of a 'null-all' spell, but more spheres of light, and they definitely possessed more power.

"Vos postulo non exsisto hic ullus diutius! Reverto ut umbra quod ago vestri vita in secundum universitas!" Yuna dropped the guns she was holding and Shuyin dropped his sword. The pyreflies that were flying around us all seemed to cease their movement and Baralai now powerfully yelled the words of the chant as the brightness of the orb filled the room. "Solvo!! Solvo!!"

With his last word, the spheres that were surrounding Baralai's body shot out directly toward all the pyreflies, Yuna, Lenne, and Shuyin. Yuna dropped her guns, clutched her stomach, let out a scream in pain, and fell right on the ground. I dropped my sword and ran to her side, cradling her in my arms as the pyreflies flew out of her body through her skin. I looked over at Lenne and Shuyin, who were embracing for one last time. I couldn't tell if they were happy to go to the Farplane or not; they just looked at each other with loving glances. Shuyin even wiped a tear that was falling down Lenne's cheek as they started to fade away and turn into pyreflies.

We all watched the pyreflies of Shuyin and Lenne rise out of the Via Infinito, and watched how all the other pyreflies followed without saying a word between us.

"Is it over?" Rikku asked, swords still up in a ready-to-strike position. Everyone else looked around for more potential fiends, but we realized that there weren't any left. Paine rushed over to Baralai, who was exhausted from the spell. He was on his knees and panting heavily with sweat still dripping from his forehead.

"Yuna…" I said as I looked down at her. She was breathing normally and she once again looked peaceful. She was unconscious, but she was okay. The color was returning to her cheeks and her lips were retaining the rosy color that I was so used to. I trailed my fingertips over her stomach, and to my relief, it was back to normal. I moved a wisp of hair out of her face and stroked her cheek.

"Is she okay?" Gippal said as he and Rikku rushed over to where I was sitting with Yuna in my arms.

"She's breathing, if that's any consolation," I said as I kissed her gently on the forehead. "I would feel better if she woke up."

"But she's alive," Baralai weakly said from the spot he was sitting in. The spell took a lot more out of him than he thought it was going to, that's for sure. I smiled and looked back down at the beautiful girl that I was holding.

She made a slight groaning noise and started to stir in my arms. My smile widened as she fluttered her beautiful eyes open. One sapphire, one emerald…back to normal. She blinked at the brightness of room, even though it was still dimly lit in the 100th Cloister. When her eyes focused on me, she gave me a gentle smile and my heart almost burst.

"Hi," she said in almost a whisper as I kissed her on her forehead again. I was so choked up that I couldn't say anything back to her as I wrapped my arms around her in a strong embrace.

"Well, it worked, Lai," Paine said as she went down on her knees so she could look at him in the face. She brushed away his sweat-soaked platinum hair from his forehead and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess it did," he said with a soft chuckle and brought Paine into an embrace. I couldn't find the words to thank him properly, but I prayed I would be able to show him my gratitude someday.

"Can we go home now?" Leblanc said with a slight whine. I had to chuckle slightly when we all nodded. Wow, for once in her life, Leblanc made an intellectual statement. Even Rikku had to crack a smile, instead of having visions of cracking Leblanc's face.

Paine and Gippal helped Baralai get to his feet, Rikku carried the books Baralai brought with him, Leblanc walked with Nooj, and I picked Yuna up and held her in my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled as she buried her head in my chest. We all walked into the Teleport Glyph and warped up to the surface of Bevelle Temple.


	23. Epilogue: Endless Road, Endless Love

**Here's the epilogue to the first fanfic I've ever started to write. Wow, it's sad to have this finished...I need to give a huge thank you to all my readers, you mean so much to me. So...thank you thank you thank you! This is an extremely mushy chapter...lol...sorry...but I like the way it turned out. It starts out in Yuna's POV, then switches to Tidus' POV, and ends up in third person. So, once again, thank you everyone for your neverending support!**

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**Epilogue: Endless Road, Endless Love**

"Oh Yunie…" Rikku squealed as she looked at me in my wedding gown. Finally, the day that Tidus and I have been waiting for—our wedding. It had been about a month and a half since we finally sent Lenne, Shuyin, and all the unsents to the Farplane, and a day less than that since Tidus proposed to me. He took me for a walk along the Besaid shoreline, hand in hand, when he asked the big question. He even went down on one knee and everything!! It was the most romantic night of my life.

Of course, we knew we wanted to get married as soon as possible because we just couldn't wait. Somehow we managed to get everything planned within a month and a half; the photographer, flowers, dresses, tuxes, priest, invitations out, etc. Rikku, Lulu, even Paine, and I worked nonstop to make sure all the arrangements were made in time, and now the wedding was at our feet. I kept repeating to myself, "Today I'm marrying the most important man in my life…"

It was a gorgeous day in Besaid Village; the sun was shining, the birds were singing in the trees, the waves gently crashing against the shore. We were to be wed on the beach in about a half hour and I was thanking the stars that the weather was in our favor. I was afraid that it would pour, and that would've been devastating because it is a beach wedding. However, the beautiful scenery did not help the fact that I was nervous. I don't know why though, I mean, it was just like another day; us confessing our love to each other.

"You look gorgeous, Yuna," Lulu said as she gave me a hug. My smile was ear to ear as I looked at Paine, Rikku and Lulu. They were obviously my bridesmaids, and they looked gorgeous in their light blue dresses. I was quite proud of myself that I could get Paine in a dress, and she actually didn't complain. Well, I knew she was swearing at me in her head, but she wasn't vocal with her protesting. I couldn't wait until Baralai saw her; he would be speechless.

"Thanks, guys," I replied as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. We were in a tent that we set up by the shore so we could get ready without an audience. Tidus, Gippal, Baralai, and Wakka were in a tent on the other side of the beach, so we could approach the priest from different angles.

My dress was amazing. Rikku found it when she was at a shop in Luca, then instantly called me so I would go check it out. It was more extravagant than the dress I had at the wedding I had with Seymour; fluffy skirt, long train, elegant bust line, spaghetti straps, and of course, pure white. My veil was as long as the train on my dress, and gently fell over my face as I kept smiling. My hair was pulled away from my face and my make up done—I felt like a princess.

"You ready?" Paine asked me as I nodded my head.

"Yeah, let's go knock 'em dead!" Rikku said as she threw her hand and foot in the air then bounced as she placed them on the ground again. How she managed to do that without ripping her dress or breaking an ankle is beyond me, but we all laughed at her.

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

"That's the eightieth time you have fixed your bowtie in the last six minutes, Tidus! It's fine!" Gippal told me as he put his hand on my shoulder. I inhaled then exhaled a few times as I brought my hands down. This is it. I'm going to be married to the most amazing girl in Spira. The day after we had the 'fun' adventure in the Via Infinito, I went ring shopping with Wakka in Luca. We only spent about an hour there, because I found the most amazing ring at the first store we went to. I didn't waste any time from buying it to actually proposing to Yuna; I did it the second I got back in Besaid. We went on a walk, I proposed, it was amazing.

"Is it natural to be this nervous?" I turned to face them, and saw Baralai and Gippal simply pointing to Wakka, who was standing between them.

"What?" Wakka asked, raising his shoulders when he saw the two men with their fingers directed at him.

"Were you this nervous?" Asking him that question actually really hurt me inside. I wish I could've been there at Wakka and Lulu's wedding, teasing them by that I saw it coming all along. But I wasn't there, I was…somewhere. Even though I had been back for a little more than two months, there were still so many questions that remained unanswered. I decided that it would be the best if I just left the questions alone. Maybe the information wasn't meant for me to know. I couldn't help but feel nervous. What would happen if I would just disappear again? What would that do to Yuna? I left her once and I couldn't do it again.

"No, I was a lot worse, ya!" We all had to laugh along with him as he thought of his wedding day. "I gotta tell you something, brudda; it's the best thing I've ever done though."

I smiled as I again went to fix the bowtie again. Gippal made a clicking sound with his tongue as he brought my hands down again. "I can't help it! I mean, two months ago, I didn't exist and now I'm getting married!"

"Next step is kids!" They had to laugh at the way a look of horror appeared on my face when I heard Wakka's statement.

"That's not even funny!" I said as I exhaled. "I'm not ready to be a father yet! I'm, what, 19 years old?"

"We'll give you a few months then," Baralai said as they all continued to laugh. I had to smile as I looked at my reflection again. Me? A daddy? I certainly will be a better father than Jecht was to me. I would teach my little boy how to play blitzball, beat away the boys that would want to date my little girl…I chuckled at the thought of Yuna and I with kids.

"How much time do I have?" I asked as I walked toward the exit of the tent. Gippal grabbed my shoulder to stop me before I could walk outside. "What?"

"You've got some time, so hold your chocobos," Gippal said with a laugh. "You are really jittery, man. I've never seen you like this."

"I've never gotten married before, that's why!" I said as I rocked impatiently on my heels. "I know I'm not getting cold feet because there's nothing else I want to do than spend the rest of my life with Yuna, but…I have nothing to follow that, really. I'm just nervous."

Baralai stuck his head outside of the tent and I had to put a goofy grin on my face. Baralai was definitely a lot more relaxed today than I have seen him in a long time. Ever since we found out that the spell worked, Baralai has been teaching a bunch of classes in the temple to young students so they could learn it. That way, Yuna wasn't needed to do the summoning dance; now there was a more modern way to send souls to the Farplane. As far as I know, the process was going well and Baralai was extremely happy with the results, yet was stressed out with the teaching part of it. Paine was teaching warrior classes in the same school though, so they both were kept busy. I was just curious to when I would see an engagement ring on Paine's finger. When he looked at us again, he said, "Okay, I think they're ready for us to go. You ready?"

I slowly inhaled, exhaled, then fixed my bowtie again. "Yeah, I think so!"

"All righty, then!" Gippal said as he put his arms around Baralai and my shoulders. "Let's do it, ladies!"

/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/--/

Tidus nervously walked up to the alter as his groomsmen walked away from him to where the bridesmaids were, so they could escort them down the aisle. He looked at everyone who attended the wedding, curious to half the people where, knowing he'd never met them. He recognized the people from Besaid, Nooj, Leblanc, Vidina, Issaru, Maroda, Pacce, Dona, Barthello, Kimahri, some Guado, and that was about it. The other people were from other villages that he assumed Yuna knew. He slowly inhaled and exhaled as the harp started to play some wedding music and the crowd stood up; proof that the bride was ready to walk down the aisle.

Yuna let out a shaky breath as the curtain moved aside and she could see her future husband. She let out a nervous grin as Paine and Baralai, Rikku and Gippal, and Lulu and Wakka walked up the aisle up to the alter. Shortly after they arrived, Yuna slowly started to walk up the path, praying that she didn't trip over her own two feet due to the heels she was wearing. Tears started to fill her eyes as she saw Tidus through her lacy veil. She had never seen him look more handsome.

"Wow," Tidus exhaled softly as she saw Yuna. Although he had seen her in a wedding gown before, this time was much different because she was marrying him, not Seymour. This time she had a smile on her face instead of the determined look that she had in Bevelle that day. She didn't marry Seymour for love, she married him for duty. Tidus knew that she was walking down the aisle out love. Every step closer that she walked to him was a step closer to them spending the rest of their lives together.

When she was right next to him, he took her hand in his and they turned toward the priest who was to perform the ceremony. They couldn't help but gaze lovingly in each other's eyes as the guests sat down and the priest began to talk.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite the hearts of Tidus and Yuna in holy matrimony." The priest continued to explain the blessed event, then turned to Wakka. "Do you have the rings?"

"Um, ya, right here," he said as he took the rings out of his pocket and handed one to Tidus and one to Yuna, and they began to say their vows.

"Yuna, from the moment I met you, I knew you were the most extraordinary woman that had ever lived. Your spirit was pure as driven snow, your determination couldn't have been torn down by a million stampeding chocobos, your mind full of creative and amazing thoughts and ideas. I knew that I wanted to help you along the way for as long as I lived, and to that I hold." He gently took her left hand in his and slid the ring on her fourth finger. "I give you this ring as a sign of my love for you. May our love always sparkle like the diamond and continue on forever like the gold band."

"Tidus, you have helped me comprehend the true meaning of love. I know now that love isn't just saying those three words; it's the journey and adventure that goes hand in hand with finding it. True love comes with strength of mind that there aren't any obstacles standing in the way. Even one as drastic as disappearing." Everyone had to softly chuckle as Yuna slid the ring on Tidus' finger. "Loving you is proof that there is such a thing as a living dream. With this ring, I vow that my love for you will never fade as long as we both shall live."

Yuna and Tidus smiled at each other and heard a sniff from behind them. They both turned to see Rikku, with a tissue in her hand, bawling her eyes out. Lulu and Paine were even dabbing their eyes as they consoled the hysterical blonde. The bride and groom smiled as they looked back at the priest, nodding at him to continue.

"Now then, do you, Tidus, take this woman to be your wedded wife through sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"Do you, Yuna, take this man to be your wedded husband through sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest looked at Tidus and with a smile said, "You may now kiss the bride."

Yuna let out a giggle as Tidus gently moved the veil that hung in front of her face and gently guided her lips to his own with his finger gently under her chin. They both closed their eyes as they exchanged their first loving kiss as a married couple. The audience applauded loudly as Tidus and Yuna broke their kiss and started to walk down the aisle, the bridal party right behind them. They stopped when they reached the side of a mountain and once again kissed.

"Cid's girl, ya gonna be okay?" Gippal asked as he hugged Rikku.

"Shut up! I love happy moments!" They all had to laugh at her as the tears continued to stream down her face.

"So, you're married now, ya?" Wakka said to Yuna and Tidus as he patted Tidus on the back. "Ya did it."

"Yeah," Tidus said as he kept Yuna wrapped in his arms. "Well, Yuna, you know what this means."

"What's that?" She asked as she gently kissed him again.

"I've had my story and you've had yours…" he trailed off and gently smiled.

"So, then," Yuna said, catching on. "This is _our_ story."

"It'll be a good one."

Everyone laughed and rolled their eyes at Tidus' statement. Yuna and Tidus couldn't help but wrap their arms around each other and, again, share a romantic kiss with the sun set painting an exquisite portrait behind them.

**The End**


End file.
